Nepanlese Soldier Fights Off 30 Taliban... singlehandedly.

[MA-Caver]

It's amazing what a man can achieve when his back's against the wall and he's got nothing to lose and knows he's going to die.

– Thu Jun 2, 3:20 am ET LONDON (AFP) – A Nepalese soldier in the British army has been given a top bravery award by Queen Elizabeth II for his heroics in Afghanistan, where he single-handedly saw off more than 30 Taliban fighters.
Corporal Dipprasad Pun, 31, said he thought he was going to die and so had nothing to lose in taking on the attackers who overran his checkpoint.
He was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC), which is given in recognition of acts of conspicuous gallantry during active operations against the enemy.
Pun fired more than 400 rounds, launched 17 grenades and detonated a mine to repel the Taliban assault on his checkpoint near Babaji in Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan, last September.
(Read the rest of the story.)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110602/wl_uk_afp/britainmilitaryafghanistannepalaward

 

[yorkshirelad]

It's amazing what a man can achieve when his back's against the wall and he's got nothing to lose and knows he's going to die.

There's nothing amazing about this! The guy's a gurkha, what else would you expect?

 

[Ken Morgan]

:asian:

I think VC's have been given out for less.

 

[Sukerkin]

I meant to post this up a while back but it slipped my mind I am ashamed to say .

 

[granfire]

I meant to post this up a while back but it slipped my mind I am ashamed to say .

You are forgiven! ^_^

 

[Big Don]

This guy is a serious bad ***

 

[Sukerkin]

:nods: Aye. Him and his fellow countrymen regularly kick butt and take names.

 

[Big Don]

I meant to post this up a while back but it slipped my mind I am ashamed to say .

I saw it, was going to post it, figured you or Tez would post it. I remember Tez having all kinds of good things to say about Gurkhas a while back.

 

[MA-Caver]

I saw it, was going to post it, figured you or Tez would post it. I remember Tez having all kinds of good things to say about Gurkhas a while back.

Wow, t'think I beat the anglish! Heh...

I saw this in Wiki...

Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, once famously said
“ If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or is a Gurkha. "

You know for a country that is famous more for peace-loving Buddhists and Dali-Lamas... it seems that we all could take a lesson from these people. Quiet un-assuming and don't start crap with anyone... but get into a scrap and it's seems to be a sure thing you're gonna lose.

Someone needs to give China an elbow nudge on that maybe messing with these people might not be such a bright idea after all.

You know they're going to make a movie about this guy.
Hopefully with the right director it'll be awesome to see.

 

[Tez3]

I would have posted but was away working and had no access to 'commercial' computers.

MA Caver I think you are confusing Nepal with Tibet. The Dalai Lama is Tibetan not Nepalese. Nepal is a mostly Hindu country with a few Buddhists and Christians, it has no problems with China although it does have a border with them. The people aren't pacifists in fact there's been a civil war going on for a bit. The Ghurkas as I've said before aren't 'bad asses', they would be rather upset if you thought them so though of course it's a Western compliment. They are well disciplined and well trained soldiers, the epitome of warriors. It was their fighting abilities that brought them to the notice of the British centuries ago. They are very proud of their fighting spirit and skills.

 

[granfire]

LOL

A friend showed me a German magazine article about Ghurkas.
fascinating, certainly not colored by American sentiment, but in essence they came to the conclusion that Ghurkas are badass: When the knife comes out, play time is over!

I think it's a somewhat civilian colored view. Maybe from West to East.
Naturally, there are more people out there who go badass when their backs are against the wall.

But I have the impression that the young man is of similar mindset as the young man who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor last November. Business as usual, nothing special, all part of the job.

 

[WC_lun]

I find it interesting that men who earn these type of honors are often mystified as to why the rest of us see thier actions as above and beyond. They just do what has to be done, in thier opinion. In the case of the Gurka young man, he had a choice between fighting back or laying down and dyig. He followed his training and 30 Al Queda found they had grabbed a tiger by the tail.

 

[Big Don]

men who earn these type of honors are often mystified as to why the rest of us see thier actions as above and beyond. They just do what has to be done, in thier opinion. .

That is usually how it works with true heroes. I've met a few true heroes, not one thought of himself as a hero...

 

[Tez3]

I find it interesting that men who earn these type of honors are often mystified as to why the rest of us see thier actions as above and beyond. They just do what has to be done, in thier opinion. In the case of the Gurka young man, he had a choice between fighting back or laying down and dyig. He followed his training and 30 Al Queda found they had grabbed a tiger by the tail.

Exactly! This mystification can work in their favour though, people have long thought of the Ghurkhas as 'different' which isn't really true but can be good when people believe it. One of the Ghurkha taxi drivers here had problems getting his fare to pay so he drove him up to the moors here and told the guy he'd get his Kukri out, kill him and dump his body if he didn't pay him, the guy was scared as hell and paid up at once.

There's a lot of myths about the Ghurkhas, the one about everytime they unsheath their kukri it has to 'feel' blood before it can be sheathed again so if they haven't used it for fighting they have to cut themselves with it, is complete rubbish, they'd bleed to death if it were true because kuris of which there are several different sizes are all round work tools for the Nepalese not objects of wosrhip. Their regiments have the same problems as others in the Army, betting is a fairly big problem, they share the Asians love of gambling. One Ghurkha TKD master I trained with drank like a fish, smoked ike a chimney and shagged any female who'd let him lol! Basically a typical squaddie.

The acts of bravery, selflessness and sheer courage that are happening in Afghanistan every day should give us hope that today's youth is not the lost cause many think and that our young people have every bit as much of the 'right stuff' that their forefathers had.

 

[MA-Caver]

The acts of bravery, selflessness and sheer courage that are happening in Afghanistan every day should give us hope that today's youth is not the lost cause many think and that our young people have every bit as much of the 'right stuff' that their forefathers had.

True... in every generation there are the brave and the cowards. Some find a little in both.

"What is cowardice but the body's wisdom of it's weakness? What is bravery but the body's wisdom of it's strength. The coward and the hero march together within every man. So to call one man coward, and another brave merely serves to indicate the possibilities of their achieving the opposite." ~Master Po (from the tv series Kung Fu

One of my favorite quotes from the show.

I realize that all those who serve and are in combat can be called brave because it takes a lot to walk into an area knowing that there is a group of people out there who want to kill you and are trying to.
Yet sometimes given a choice one person can show what bravery truly is given the situation. And like all men... no situation is the same.

 

[granfire]

Exactly! This mystification can work in their favour though, people have long thought of the Ghurkhas as 'different' which isn't really true but can be good when people believe it. One of the Ghurkha taxi drivers here had problems getting his fare to pay so he drove him up to the moors here and told the guy he'd get his Kukri out, kill him and dump his body if he didn't pay him, the guy was scared as hell and paid up at once.

There's a lot of myths about the Ghurkhas, the one about everytime they unsheath their kukri it has to 'feel' blood before it can be sheathed again so if they haven't used it for fighting they have to cut themselves with it, is complete rubbish, they'd bleed to death if it were true because kuris of which there are several different sizes are all round work tools for the Nepalese not objects of wosrhip. Their regiments have the same problems as others in the Army, betting is a fairly big problem, they share the Asians love of gambling. One Ghurkha TKD master I trained with drank like a fish, smoked ike a chimney and shagged any female who'd let him lol! Basically a typical squaddie.

The acts of bravery, selflessness and sheer courage that are happening in Afghanistan every day should give us hope that today's youth is not the lost cause many think and that our young people have every bit as much of the 'right stuff' that their forefathers had.

LOL, sometimes a myth is a powerful thing!

 

[granfire]

I am sure SSGT Salvatore Giunta shares the sentiment of rather not being called badass...