First Indian casualty in Iraq - The Times of India

First Indian-American to-be casualty in Iraq

Chidhu Rajghatta, in The Times of India, reports of the death of 21 year old Army specialist Uday Singh, who died on Monday after an attack in Habbaniyah, according to the US Department of Defense.

"Singh, a recent immigrant to the US whose parents still live in Chandigarh , was assigned to C Company, 1st Battalion, 34th Armoured Regiment, 1st Infantry Division of Fort Riley, Kansas, officials said. Singh was still an Indian national and a US Green Card holder on the threshold of becoming a US citizen. In fact, his citizenship papers had just been cleared and he had written to his family over the weekend saying he was returning to the US in January to be sworn in as a citizen. He also said that he had been promoted to a sergeant. "His father told us he was on patrol when he was shot and died on the way to hospital," said Singh's uncle, Prem Jay Datt, of Lake Forest , Chicago. Singh came from a military family, his uncle said. Singh's father served in the Indian army and his grandfather served in the British army when India was still under British rule. The family said that young Uday saw the US military as a passport to citizenship and a college degree. "He planned to save enough money and go to college," Datt said. "He wanted to get a degree and do well in life."

posted by sajit @ 1:24 PM