Tul Bahadur Pun VC is one of only 12 living holders of Britain's highest medal, theVictoria Cross. He earned it fighting during the Burma campaign in World War II, for the British, as a member of the Ghurka Regiment. Such is the courage of these Nepalese fighters that they comprise one third of the 12 surviving holders of the medal. Below the fold, I reproduce the main part of the citation Mr Pun received.
Mr Pun was an honored guest at the coronation of the current Queen. Now he is elderly and infirm. Like many of his colleagues, is forced to live in Nepal because of the meanness of the pension scheme for the regiment, that gives them less than their equivalent in a purely British regiment. He has multiple medical problems and has only intermittent access to treatment and medication. He has to be carried down the mountains to get to a doctor.
He wants to come to Britain to get the treatment this country owes him for his service to it. The British embassy in Nepal has refused his application to settle in Britain to receive it on the grounds that he "failed to demonstrate strong ties with the UK"
Update [2007-6-1 12:54:49 by londonbear]: The campaign has worked! See below
This is part of the citation from the London Gazette which announce that the King was "pleased to award" the Victoria Cross to the then Rifleman Pun.
In Burma on June 23rd, 1944, a Battalion of the 6th Gurkha Rifles was ordered to attack the Railway Bridge at Mogaung. Immediately the attack developed the enemy opened concentrated and sustained cross fire at close range from a position known as the Red House and from a strong bunker position two hundred yards to the left of it.
So intense was this cross fire that both the leading platoons of 'B' Company, one of which was Rifleman Tulbahadur Pun's, were pinned to the ground and the whole of his Section was wiped out with the exception of himself, the Section commander and one other man. The Section commander immediately led the remaining two men in a charge on the Red House but was at once badly wounded. Rifleman Tulbahadur Pun and his remaining companion continued the charge, but the latter too was immediately wounded.
Rifleman Tulbahadur Pun then seized the Bren Gun, and firing from the hip as he went, continued the charge on this heavily bunkered position alone, in the face of the most shattering concentration of automatic fire, directed straight at him. With the dawn coming up behind him, he presented a perfect target to the Japanese. He had to move for thirty yards over open ground, ankle deep in mud, through shell holes and over fallen trees.
Despite these overwhelming odds, he reached the Red House and closed with the Japanese occupants. He killed three and put five more to flight and captured two light machine guns and much ammunition. He then gave accurate supporting fire from the bunker to the remainder of his platoon which enabled them to reach their objective.
In their 200 years of service to the British Crown, 45,000 have died and 150,000 seriously wounded yet they do not have the automatic right to live in Britain or become British. This contrasts with the US armed services which do provide a route to citizenship through service.
A group of those who recognize the debt Britain owes to the Ghurkas has opened an on-line petition at the 10 Downing Street site and have their own web siteto highlight the urgent need for Mr Pun to be allowed to come for treatment. Much of the information in this diary is taken from the latter.
The main cemetery for the dead in the Burma campaign is at Kohima. The inscription on the memorial there reads:
"When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say,
For Their Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today
His dead compatriots' tomorrow is Mr Pun's today. Britain will stay in disgrace until the debt of honor we owe him is paid and he is allowed to come for treatment.
Update [2007-6-1 12:54:49 by londonbear]: Following the publicity the case has received on radio, Mr Pun has been given permission to come to Britain.
Immigration Minister Liam Byrne has now said his case is "exceptional" and he will be granted a visa due to a "heroic record in the service of Britain".
<snip>
Mr Pun's lawyers had lodged an appeal which was due to be heard in August.
His solicitor, Martin Howe, said the government did have the power to let him live in the country.
"There is a discretionary policy that is there and available to all Gurkha ex-servicemen who retired prior to 1997 and they are entitled to come to the UK and live here if they can show strong reasons and I think it's beyond doubt that this man has shown those," he said.
Mr Pun has diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems and asthma. His eyesight and hearing are poor.
He receives a British Army pension of £132 a month, which he must collect in person from the Gurkha army camp at Pokhara - a three-hour drive away from his home.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/...