Uday Singh Taunque

Sergeant Uday Singh Taunque (1982-2003) was the first soldier of Indian descent to die fighting in the Iraq War as part of the U.S. Army. His death in Iraq was widely reported in the Indian and American media.
Sergeant Uday Singh Taunque was born in Jaipur, India on 23 April 1982. He stayed with his parents at various military stations till 1994. Then he moved to his paternal grand parents home in Chandigarh. There he enrolled in St Stephen's School. In 1995, Uday's parents and sister also moved to Chandigarh. Uday, on leaving school in Chandigarh in June 2000, left for the U.S. with his father and sister and decided to join the U.S. Army. Uday enlisted in the army on 28 August 2000 and on termination of initial training at Fort Knox was assigned to Charlie Company 1st Battalion, 34 Armor Regiment, based at Fort Riley, Kansas, U.S. Uday's unit was deployed to Iraq in September 2003. On, 1 December 2003, Uday was in the lead Humvee of his platoon as a gunner while out on reconnaissance in Habbaniyah, when the platoon came under fire. Uday was the first to return fire, and kept the insurgents pinned down until reinforcements arrived. However, in the continuing fire fight he was hit with a gunshot to his head and subsequently died whilst being transported to the hospital. The mission led to the capture of a number of terrorists and large cache of weapons.

Uday was awarded with the Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his bravery and ultimate sacrifice.

Uday's ashes are buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington (near Washington D.C.) Section 60 Gravesite No 8122. Also, a memorial for perpetuating his memory is established and will be completed shortly at his home in Chandigarh (1550, Sec 18-D).

Illinois General Assembly also paid homage to Sergeant Uday's bravery and martyrdom by passing a Senate Resolution.It is also noteworthy that Sergeant Uday came from a distinguished military family and his grandfather , Wing Commander Kartar Singh Taunque, was the first ever personnel of Indian Airforce, then Royal Indian Airforce, to win a gallantry award for Operations in Waziristan during World War II.