Updated
July 04, 2004: First time
in history-
Khanda to
appear as an official emblem
Dec 30, 2003 USA:
MEMORIAL SERVICES
TO HONOR SERGEANT UDAY SINGH ON JANUARY 17 AT PALATINE, IllINOIS,
USA GURDWARA-
Illinois' Governor, US Senators, Congressmen and Mayors are ....
A
funeral has been held
December11, 2003 The US army's Lieutenant General James Campbell
led tributes to Sergeant Uday Singh as his body was cremated in
his home.Lieutenant General
Campbell, who heads the US army's Pacific Command, spoke of Sergeant
Singh as a "brother in arms and a true Indian". Describing
him as a hero, he said Sergeant Singh was and always would be an
American soldier.
For the first time ever,
soldiers of the United States Army, mounted an honour guard for
one of their fallen comrades in India. Six US Army pall bearers
— three majors, two captains and a warrant officer — draped the
coffin of Sergeant Uday Singh, with the US Stars and Stripes.
No guns boomed in salute for the slain soldier. Only the last post
sounded as the six American pallbearers stood at attention, mourning
the young man who had died fighting their war.
The Americans did not fire their guns — they could not in an alien
land.
Flag and medals
The military honours were preceded
by a religious ceremony, in which Sikh prayers were read out.
The dead soldier's father, former Indian army officer Lieutenant
Colonel Preet Mohinder Singh, his mother and his sister, wept as
his body was consigned to the flames, according to ancient Sikh
ritual.
Uday Singh's parents were later given
a US flag and replicas of their son's medal by Lieutenant General
Campbell.
Sergeant Singh was killed on 1 December
when his patrol was ambushed by suspected insurgents in the town
of Habbaniya, west of Baghdad.
India's Government has said it will
not send its troops to support US forces in Iraq until there is
an international consensus on the future of the war-torn, oil-rich
state
SEP05, 2003
NRI Uday Singh, a US Army trooper, had been killed in Iraq.
Twenty-one-year-old US Army Specialist Uday Singh became the
first Indian to die in Operation Iraqi Freedom when his convoy
was ambushed in Habbaniyah near Baghdad on December 1
Uday Singh went to St Stephen's School, Sector 45, about three
years ago. After getting a Green Card, he joined the US Army and
and was sent to Iraq. He had planned to work for two years in the
army and then like to go fot higher studies.
His father Lt Col Preet Mohinder Singh, who owns a service station
in Sector 17 and was very close to his son Uday Singh. Uday used
to tell his father not to worry about him. Uday has an 11-year-old
sister, Bani, who is studying at Sanawar. His friends and family
members remember him as a cheerful person, who was soft-spoken and
respectful.
He loved racing cars, war movies, was full of life and had a burning
desire to join the US Army - a decision that finally took his life.
He showed his mettle during the company's deployment in Kuwait
from August to December 2001 and was awarded the Army Achievement
Medal for his meritorious services. On September 8, 2003 his company
moved to Iraq
Uday Singh had visited his parents for a few days in March, and
just a few weeks ago, had written to them from Iraq, where he mentioned
about an ear injury which had affected his hearing. A family friend
recalled that he had also written to his grandmother recently.
Associated Press
LAKE FOREST (Illinois) - A soldier from the Chicago suburb of Lake
Forest was killed in Iraq when his unit was attacked while on patrol,
the Department of Defense announced Tuesday.
Army Spc. Uday Singh, 21, died Monday after an attack in Habbaniyah,
Iraq, military officials said. He was assigned to C Company, 1st
Battalion, 34th Armored Regiment, 1st Infantry Division of Fort
Riley, Kan.
"His father told us he was on patrol when he was shot and
died on the way to the hospital," said Singh's uncle, Prem
Jay Datt, of Lake Forest. He said the Indian-born Singh's parents
live in Chandigarh, India, a town near New Delhi.
"We got a call from his dad at 7 a.m. (Tuesday) morning,"
Datt said. "My wife goes for her walk at 6 a.m. this morning
and the moment she came back the phone rang. She picked it up and
she knew right away it was the worse."
Singh moved to Lake Forest in the summer of 1998 to live with his
uncle and aunt and had planned to enroll in high school, Datt said.
But he said his nephew changed his mind and returned home to finish
high school before returning to the United States, where he enlisted
in the Army in 2000.
Singh came from a military family, his uncle said. He said the
soldier's father served in the Indian army and his grandfather served
in the British military when India was still under British rule.
"He planned to save up enough money and go to college,"
Datt said. "He wanted to get a degree and do well in life."
In the meantime, Singh was pursuing his U.S. citizenship. In fact,
the Datts on Saturday received a letter from Singh saying that he
planned to return to the U.S. to be sworn in as a citizen in January.
"Then three days later, we get a call from his father,"
Datt said. "We could not believe it. ... Twenty-one years old
and he's gone forever."

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