On the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas, when the sacrifice of brave soldiers is being remembered, here is a heart wrenching story of Lance Naik Kuldeep Singh.

One year after Operation Vijay, Kuldeep was martyred, fighting the intruders, who were still hiding in the region after the Kargil war.

It was on 26 July, 1999, that India successfully defeated the enemy to reclaim the posts in Kargil. The day is commemorated as Kargil Vijay Diwas.

Kuldeep’s family had received a phone call from him where he said he will be home on 16 July, 2000. However, tragedy struck and Kuldeep was martyred fighting the enemy in Operation Rakshak, on 13 July.

His body arrived home on 16 July. The grieving family received Kuldeep’s letter three days later, on 19 July. He had written the letter on the same day when he was martyred.

The letter was written in Punjabi on a pink coloured page, which is specifically designed for the defence personnel.

Kuldeep had joined the Indian Army in 1987. Before being posted at Uri sector, he had served in Allahabad and Jammu and Kashmir.

According to The Times of India report, in the letter, Kuldeep had repeatedly enquired about his two sons, and his sister. He had even expressed disappointment for not replying to the letter he had sent earlier.

It has been 18 years since Kuldeep’s martyrdom and the family has preserved his letter as the most valuable asset. While his sons do not want to read the letter, his wife Mandeep Kaur says, by reading it, she remains connected to her husband.

Reports said, Kuldeep’s two sons Ravinder Singh and Veerpal Singh have completed BCA and BSc IT respectively. The last time the family had seen Kuldeep was on 5 January 2000, when he returned to Uri sector after completing his two-month leave.