Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon

Flying Officer

Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon

PVC
Born(1943-07-17)17 July 1943
Ludhiana, Punjab, British India[1]
(now in Punjab, India)
Died14 December 1971(1971-12-14) (aged 26)
Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India
AllegianceIndia Republic of India
Service / branch Indian Air Force
Years of service1967–1971
Rank Flying Officer
UnitNo. 18 Squadron
Battles / warsIndo-Pakistani War of 1971
Awards Param Vir Chakra (posthumous)

Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon, PVC (17 July 1945 – 14 December 1971) was an officer of the Indian Air Force. He was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military decoration during war time, in recognition of his lone defence of Srinagar Air Base against a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) air raid during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.[2] He is the only member of the Indian Air Force to be honoured with the PVC.[3]

Statue of Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon and his aircraft

Flying Officer Sekhon's remains as well as the exact location of the crash site of his aircraft are still unknown.

Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon in a colorized photograph of the No. 18 Squadron IAF just a few months before the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. He is sitting in the 2nd row from the bottom, 4th from the right.
  1. ^ Vasdev, Kanchan (30 January 2003). "Sekhon's hamlet to be 'adarsh village'". The Tribune (Chandigarh). Archived from the original on 1 March 2004. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  2. ^ "Batchmates remember of IAF's lone Param Vir Chakra awardee recall his valour". The Indian Express. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  3. ^ "IAF scales 3 virgin peaks in Ladakh region". Hindustan Times. 27 July 2012. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2012.