PULLOCK DUTTA
- Two veterans get back ‘honours’ they lost during raids by army in Mokokchung six decades ago
Guwahati, Nov. 26: Hazy memories of a grand war hung from the wornout shirts of two Naga soldiers who were “decorated” today with War War II medals that were lost in the late forties during operations by the army against rebels.
Imkong Toba and Alem Chiba, both octogenarians, cannot remember the year the British government decided to acknowledge their bravery but they clearly recall the day when troops burnt down their houses along with their signs of heroism.
The medals and the certificates would have been lost forever had a team from the Southwick Christian Community Church of England, led by a Naga woman, Alemla Twiss, not visited Mokokchung three years ago.
Moved by the soldiers’ story of loss, the church members contacted the British Legion World War II office in London and looked up their records.
The British Legion Office re-issued the World War II medals, including the prestigious Burma Star medal.
Rev. Lynda Hulcoop, who arrived in the village on Monday with a 15-member team, handed over the medals and certificates to the veterans at an emotion-soaked ceremony today.
“For us, it means a lot. It is about the best years of our lives which we had sacrificed for a cause,” Imkong said over phone after the ceremony.
During a raid by the army sometime in 1947-48 in Akumen village, his house was burnt down and he lost the medals and the certificates awarded to him by the Royal British Army, Alem remembered.
At that time, Nagaland was fighting for sovereignty under A.Z. Phizo of the Naga National Council.
“I never thought even in my wildest dreams that I would get back my medals after so many years. These medals are replicas of the ones we have lost,” Alem said.
Rev. Hulcoop said over phone that she was touched when she first came to know that the two Naga men “from this remote corner of the world had actually once served the Royal British Army”.
“I decided to do the needful to honour the two brave soldiers by returning their medals. And here we are,” she said.
This is Rev Hulcoop’s third visit to Nagaland.
The Southwick Christian Community Church has taken up several development projects at Akumen with the help of the Baptist church and the village council. “We are setting up a dispensary, repairing the village road, constructing two brides and imparting vocational training to women,” she said.
Source: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1081127/jsp/northeast/story_10168121.jsp
- Two veterans get back ‘honours’ they lost during raids by army in Mokokchung six decades ago
Guwahati, Nov. 26: Hazy memories of a grand war hung from the wornout shirts of two Naga soldiers who were “decorated” today with War War II medals that were lost in the late forties during operations by the army against rebels.
Imkong Toba and Alem Chiba, both octogenarians, cannot remember the year the British government decided to acknowledge their bravery but they clearly recall the day when troops burnt down their houses along with their signs of heroism.
The medals and the certificates would have been lost forever had a team from the Southwick Christian Community Church of England, led by a Naga woman, Alemla Twiss, not visited Mokokchung three years ago.
Moved by the soldiers’ story of loss, the church members contacted the British Legion World War II office in London and looked up their records.
The British Legion Office re-issued the World War II medals, including the prestigious Burma Star medal.
Rev. Lynda Hulcoop, who arrived in the village on Monday with a 15-member team, handed over the medals and certificates to the veterans at an emotion-soaked ceremony today.
“For us, it means a lot. It is about the best years of our lives which we had sacrificed for a cause,” Imkong said over phone after the ceremony.
During a raid by the army sometime in 1947-48 in Akumen village, his house was burnt down and he lost the medals and the certificates awarded to him by the Royal British Army, Alem remembered.
At that time, Nagaland was fighting for sovereignty under A.Z. Phizo of the Naga National Council.
“I never thought even in my wildest dreams that I would get back my medals after so many years. These medals are replicas of the ones we have lost,” Alem said.
Rev. Hulcoop said over phone that she was touched when she first came to know that the two Naga men “from this remote corner of the world had actually once served the Royal British Army”.
“I decided to do the needful to honour the two brave soldiers by returning their medals. And here we are,” she said.
This is Rev Hulcoop’s third visit to Nagaland.
The Southwick Christian Community Church has taken up several development projects at Akumen with the help of the Baptist church and the village council. “We are setting up a dispensary, repairing the village road, constructing two brides and imparting vocational training to women,” she said.
Source: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1081127/jsp/northeast/story_10168121.jsp
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