Thank you to Paper Weight Entertainment for showcasing the stories of unsung heroes.
Major US Gill was one of the first victim of the remote controlled IED (improvised explosive device) been often planted by Militants and anti-national elements in the hostile area of Jammu & Kashmir state in the 1990s. Commissioned into the Armoured Corps Regiment’s Central India Horse battalion (21st in order), Major Gill volunteered to join and work on the initial raising of the 1st Rashtriya Rifles (RR) in the early 90s, which was raised in an amalgamation of various Indian Army regiments. Major US Gill took up the challenge to raise the 1st RR squads from the scratch. Working with detonating the IEDs (or land mines) was the primary task of Major Gill’s company deployed around 40 km from Srinagar.
On 2nd November 1993, as the company commander incharge, Major Gill got the information about IEDs planted next to highway targeting Army convoy movements. A firm believer of the Academy motto “Your Country Comes First, Then Your Men, And Your Own Safety The Last” and his words, “The first and foremost is that once you are in uniform, it is your solemn duty to be an example to your subordinates, you have to lead from the front, you can’t be behind your men”. Convoys and troops movement was due on time, Major Gill took the lead to search the hidden IED. Planted by Hizbul-Mujahedeen, one of the new remote controlled land mine, it was denotated when Major Gill was about 5m away from it.
Thus, the soldier saved hundreds of men and the convoy movement.
Now retired as Lt.Col US Gill and settled in Chandigarh, family remembers the fateful times as a body of flesh and blood, was lying on a hospital bed. Seen healthy and back to life, here is a message the Soldier wants to give to the nation:
Watch here Undefeated Episode 3: Duty and Courage:
Lt.Col US Gill, a soldier, a real-life hero who lived up to the lesson they are taught as cadets, “Your Country comes first, then your men, and your own safety the last”. Lt.Col Gill is a man loved by his family, respected by his men and praised by his colleagues for his courage to do his duty properly.
This story is part of ‘Undefeated – Soldiers of Courage’, a Web-Series by Paper Weight Entertainment inspired by the life that a soldier and their families live. What makes them stand out and what gives them the courage to keep living even after the harsh situations they go through during their service for the country and how they (soldiers) who join the armed forces at a very young age grow and imbibe certain principles in life that sets them apart from the others.
WATCH the #UNDEFEATED SERIES here
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP_Hhigb-mRFkJw4HFW0w-KllfvPVCAs1
