Rifleman Lachhiman Gurung

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Rifleman Lachhiman Gurung

Lachhiman Gurung was a rifleman of the British Indian Army during World War II. In May of 1945, he was manning the forward position of his platoon in Burma. Suddenly his troops came under attack from 200 Japanese soldiers. Grenade attack killed most of his troops and others lay injured around him. He started hurling back the Japanese grenades that fell into his trench twice and in the third attempt the grenade exploded in his right hand severely injuring the whole right side of his face and body. With total disregard to his severe injuries, he loaded his riffle and started firing with his other good hand. He single handedly took on a troop of 200 Japanese soldiers for four hours. He calmly waited in his trench as the Japanese soldiers advanced, firing them at point blank range. In the morning on assessing the damage he had inflicted, 31 Japanese soldiers lay dead around his trench.

He received Victoria Cross, the most prestigious award for gallantry during those times at Red Fort in Delhi on December 19th, 1945. He died in December of 2010 of pneumonia in England.