Two Warriors. One Spirit. #RememberingHeroes
Today hits different.
It’s the death anniversary of 2nd Lt. Arun Khetarpal, PVC. 21 years old. Tank commander. Refused to abandon his post. Became one of the youngest recipients of India’s highest military award, the Param Vir Chakra.
His story makes me think of another hero, whose name many know from a movie: Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Vir Chakra. The real “Shershaah” of Tiger Hill in the Kargil War. Led from the front. Took out enemy bunkers while critically wounded.
Two different wars. 1971. 1999. Two different generations. But the exact same heart.
It’s that moment of choice. The split second where every human instinct says retreat, save yourself, but something deeper, something forged in duty and love for the men beside you and the land behind you, says “NO. Not yet. One more fight.”
Khetarpal’s last known words over the radio: “No, I will not abandon my tank. My main gun is still working.”
That’s not just bravery. That’s a different dimension of commitment. It’s the spirit of “I have a job to do, and I will do it until my last breath.”
Rathore embodied that same spirit on the icy peaks of Kargil.
We see one in history books. We saw the other portrayed on a screen. But the raw, unfiltered truth of their sacrifice is something we can hardly grasp.
Today, I’m just sitting with that feeling. Of immense gratitude. And the humbling realisation that there are people who give everything, so we don’t have to.
