4 July,1999: Saluting Param Vir Chakra Awardee Kargil War Hero, Army’s Living Legend Subedar Major Yogendra Singh Yadav

 

Subedar Major Yogendra Singh Yadav, the hero of Tiger Hill, is the youngest Indian soldier to win a Param Vir Chakra. He was only 19 when he won the Param Vir Chakra for his action during the Kargil war on July 4,1999, when he volunteered to lead a Ghatak Commando Platoon of 18 Grenadiers to capture three strategic bunkers on Tiger hill.

 

Yadav joined Indian Army at a very young age of 16 years and 5 months. Grenadier Yogender Singh Yadav was part of the leading team of a Ghatak Platoon tasked to capture Tiger Hill on the night of 3/4 July 1999 in Kargil War.

 

Grenadier Yogender Singh Yadav, unmindful of the danger involved, volunteered to lead and fix the rope for his team to climb up. On seeing the team, the enemy opened intense automatic, grenade, rocket and artillery fire killing the Commander and two of his colleagues and the platoon was stalled.

 

 

Realising the gravity of the situation, Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav crawled up to the enemy position to silence it and in the process sustained multiple bullet injuries. Unmindful of his injuries and in a hail of enemy bullets, Grenadier Yogender Singh Yadav continued climbing towards the enemy positions, lobbed grenades, continued firing from his weapons and killed four enemy soldiers in close combat and silenced the automatic fire. His charge cleared the way for the rest of the Platoon to climb up the cliff face.

 

Despite multiple bullet injuries, he refused to be evacuated and continued the charge along with seven soldiers. The bunker was captured but only Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav survived with 18 bullet injuries, two hand grenade wounds and an arm hanging from tendons and skin.

 

This unparalleled act of bravery earned Yadav country's highest wartime gallantry decoration, the Param Vir Chakra, making him one of the rare living legends in the armed forces. Pertinent to mention here that there are only three living recipients of the Param Vir Chakra Award; Bana Singh, Sanjay Kumar and Yogendra Singh Yadav.

 

On the 75th Independent Day of the country, President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the rank of Honorary Captain upon Yadav.