Gurkhas with the emblem of the feared kukri behind them.
Posted on 06/25/2008 9:44:19 AM PDT by C19fan
A Gurkha awarded the highest military award for gallantry in the face of the enemy was at the forefront of a demonstration today to promote the rights of more than 2,000 of the soldiers to stay in Britain.
Tul Bahadur Pun VC, 87, a Second World War veteran who is now in a wheelchair, delivered a boardful of medals, including an MBE, to Downing Street in protest over the treatment of Gurkha soldiers.
A London hospital refused to treat him for his heart condition, claiming he owed thousands of pounds in unpaid medical bills.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Bad Form.
Socialized Medicine, aka OBamaCare, coming soon to a hospital near YOU.
According to this source:
He was 21 years old, and a Rifleman in the 3rd Battalion, 6th Gurkha Rifles, Indian Army during the Second World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.On 23 June 1944 at Mogaung, Burma (now Myanmar), during an attack on the railway bridge, a section of one of the platoons was wiped out with the exception of Rifleman Tul Bahadur Pun, his section commander and one other. The section commander immediately led a charge on the enemy position but was at once badly wounded, as was the third man. Rifleman Tul Bahadur Pun, with a Bren gun continued the charge alone in the face of shattering fire and reaching the position, killed three of the occupants and put five more to flight, capturing two light machine-guns and much ammunition. He then gave accurate supporting fire, enabling the rest of his platoon to reach their objective.
Twas ever thus. Rudyard Kipling covered it completely in one of his poems. “Tommie this, and Tommy that......”
The paratroopers were lining up for their first drop and their leader announced that they would jump out at 500 feet.
A Ghurka spoke up: "Could the plane fly lower? That way we will be at the enemy without delay!"
The leader pointed out that the parachutes wouldn't open in time if the drop were made from a lower height.
The Gurka responded: "Oh, you're giving us parachutes?"
While jungle training in Belize, a group of British commandos bragged they could never be intimidated by Gurkha psych-ops the way the Japanese were in WW II.
Seems the Gurkhas had a nasty practice of sneaking into camps, slitting mosquito netting for about every fifth soldier with their kukri knives, cutting the throat of the sleeping soldier, and then sneaking out again without detection. The Brits were convinced this could never happen to them.
The next day, they discovered the Gurkha's had cut the heels off every soldier's boot during the night, including the sentries.
Bottom line: Whether you believe the story or not, Gurkha's are not nice people to tangle with.
Entirely different issue...
“A London hospital refused to treat him for his heart condition, claiming he owed thousands of pounds in unpaid medical bills.”....
What?....Thousands of pounds in medical bills matters? I thought Britain had socialized medicine for all?
I disagree. ObamaCare will look at an old veteran as a drag upon the system, a dispensible cog with little return to the “People”. Unpaid debts will matter, past service to the nation will not matter.
Thanks for posting that!
That’s one of the better variants on the stories about Ghurkas being ready
to jump from a perfectly good plane...before learning they’d have a
parachute for the affair.
The Ghurkas have a more storied past...but they remind me of what
my US Army father said about the ROK (Republic of Korea) troops:
“HARDER THAN NAILS!”
I see your point.
This article is more salt in the wound regarding how the UK treats the Gurkhas. For the most part the UK armed forces use them for the heavy grunt work and do not cover them for anything, they even denied them pensions etcetera...
This would be more in line with an Obama run military.
I will check with my friends in the UK to see if there has been a fund set up to help RSM Tul Bahadur Pun.
The US has recognized Royal Lao soldiers as vets in the US. What the hell is wrong with the UK ?
“I will check with my friends in the UK to see if there has been a fund set up to help RSM Tul Bahadur Pun.”
Would you please let me know what you discover?
I certainly will let you know if I discover a fund in the UK to help this WW11 hero.
The Gurkha said "shake your head..."
I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer, The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here." The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die, I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I: O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away"; But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play, The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play, O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play.
I went into a theatre as sober as could be, They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me; They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls, But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls! For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside"; But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide, The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide, O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.
Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap; An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit. Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?" But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll, The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll, O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.
We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too, But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you; An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints, Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints; While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind", But it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind, There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind, O it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind.
You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all: We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational. Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace. For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!" But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot; An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please; An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Tommy sees!
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