A photo tribute to my friend, Rear Admiral Satyendra Singh Jamwal, who was tragically killed in a range accident in Kochi last week. The photographs are from the commissioning of the frigate, INS Beas, at Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, in 2005. Captain Jamwal was the commissioning CO of the Beas, and I covered the event for NDTV.
The photos were sent to me by one of the officers in the crew of the INS Beas. A portion of his tribute to his skipper is enclosed below:-
"I am sending some photographs of RAdm Jamwal taken whilst on board Beas.... He was one of the hardest task masters to come across but if I had to go to war I would feel safest with a man like the late RAdm SS Jamwal. It's Navy's loss. I remember how happy he was when I met him at his residence for lunch. It had been indeed so humble of him as - Chief of Staff - to invite his ship mate over for lunch at home. The family seemed so happy at the table. Ther's so much to say and all of us - the Beas crew - feel bereaved... I wanted to post the pics on the WWW but decided against it. Wish you could do it."
A soldier India needed most. R.I.P.
ReplyDeleteSo So Sad
ReplyDeleteRIP Rear Admiral RIP
:-[
RIP Rear Admiral SS Jamwal
ReplyDeleteb
A great loss for India...
ReplyDeleteRest in Peace Sir :(
May god bless his soul & give his family the strength to sail through these difficult times...
R.I.P.
ReplyDeleteHe worked hard for the nation from the beginning of his carrier but he had so much such to give, loss of a precious life. My condolence to his family.
I think he also did DSSC-47. I remember him as very health conscious guy, who used to let his hair down at Happy Hour! Hope my memory serves me right!! Any way here is to a Good Soldier (Sailor) May his soul rest in peace.
ReplyDeleteVery well written Ajai, I remember Jonga he was about 3 years my junior in school, a lot at that age. As such I did not have much interaction with him so cannot write much about the school days. What I do remember is this kid who always had a charming smile with a twinkle in his light eyes.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that he would have been Chief of Naval Staff one day. While I did not know him personally after 1973; I had heard many great things about him as a professional sailor & soldier. I would like to thank him for having given me the chance to say with pride that like him I too am an “Old Sanawarian”.
I also take this as chance to condemn the news channels who dared to suggest that he committed suicide. Suicide is an act of cowardice, any and everyone who knew Jonga in the navy will wager his last buck that Jonga was “The Bravest of the Brave.” I recall one officer complaining about the high levels he set for operational duty; these were for all including himself; he added that he would however not want to sail into battle under anyone else. I really wish they would get their facts correct and confirmed before breaking news with false sensationalism just to increase their ratings.
Rest in Peace Jonga, we all know that you were the best. India will miss you.
Sanjiv K Singh
Old Sanawarian 1973 batch.
a great warrrior and a gem of a person. i wish the news channels behaved responsibly, is there no code of conduct for them?
ReplyDeleteRIP RAdm SS Jamwal