Abdul Hamid
Company Quartermaster Havildar, Grenadiers
"One more tank — I will get one more."
Biography
A soldier of the 4th Battalion, The Grenadiers, from a family of tailors in Uttar Pradesh, Company Quartermaster Havildar Abdul Hamid became the hero of the Battle of Asal Uttar. As Pakistan's American-supplied Patton tanks rolled toward the Indian lines at Khem Karan, Hamid engaged them from his open-topped jeep with a recoilless rifle, destroying several of the feared Pattons at close range in the flooded sugarcane fields. He was killed by tank fire while stalking yet another Patton. For his extraordinary courage he was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest gallantry decoration, posthumously — becoming one of the enduring icons of the 1965 war and of the victory that turned the battlefield into the 'graveyard of Pattons.'
Did you know?
The gun-mounted jeep from which he destroyed the Pattons, and his story, made him one of the most celebrated ordinary soldiers in Indian military history.
Key Battles
Battle of Asal Uttar
India victorySeptember 8–10, 1965 · 2,500 total casualties
Asal Uttar was the decisive defensive victory of the war, shattering Pakistan's main armoured striking force and ending its hopes of a breakthrough in the Punjab. It became a legend of Indian arms.
Life Journey
Timeline
July 1, 1933
🌅 Birth
Born in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh
September 10, 1965
✝️ Death
Killed destroying Patton tanks at Asal Uttar