Ramakrishnan Vishwanathan
Lieutenant Colonel Ramakrishnan Vishwanathan, VrC was the second-in-command of "18 Grenadiers" which was conducting operations on and around Tololing mountain, Drass sector, Kargil, during Operation Vijay. He was posthumously awarded the Vir Chakra for his actions during the Kargil War.
Lieutenant Colonel R Vishwanathan | |
|---|---|
| Born | 12 January 1960 |
| Died | 2 June 1999 Tololing, Kargil, Jammu and Kashmir, India |
| Allegiance |  |
| Service/ |  |
| Rank |  |
| Unit | 18 Grenadiers |
| Battles/wars | Kargil War Operation Vijay |
| Awards |  |
He did his schooling at Kochi and was commissioned in 1981 after completing his training at the National Defence Academy, Khadakvasla, Pune and the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.
He had served with the Indian Peacekeeping Force in Sri Lanka and later with the UN Peacekeeping Force in Angola.
Vir Chakra Citation
The citation for the Vir Chakra reads as follows
Gazette Notification: 113Pres/98,15-8-99 Operation: Vijay - Kargil Date of Award: 1999 Citation: During 'Operation Vijay', Lieutenant Colonel Ramakrishnan Vishwanathan was the Second-in-Command of 18 Grenadiers, which was conducting operations in the Tololing area of Drass sector. He displayed rare valour in closing in on enemy positions under prohibitive enemy automatic fire and intense artillery shelling, thus taking the enemy by complete surprise along a very difficult approach and terrain at an altitude ofover 15,000 feet. During the attack, Lieutenant Colonel Vishwanathan sustained multiple gunshot wounds. In spite of being severely injured he refused to be evacuated and exhorted his troops to press on further. He charged through enemy defences destroying three enemy positions and eliminated four intruders single-handedly in a close hand-to-hand combat. Due to his efforts, the battalion could secure afoothold on the enemy location which later facilitated capture of Point 4590.
Though Second-in-Command of his unit, Lieutenant Colonel Ramakrishnan Vishwanathan disregarded his seniority and preferred being where his men were fighting: and led from the front during assaults on well-fortified enemy positions in Tololing. He however succumbed to his injuries making the supreme sacrifice for the nation in the best traditions of the Indian Army.[1]
References
External links
http://ikashmir.net/kargilheroes/vishwanathan.html http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/ARMY/Galleries/Wars/Kargil/0366.jpg.html
