Captain Jerry Prem Raj VrC

Captain Jerry Prem Raj hailed from Venganoor village in the Trivandrum district of Kerala. Son of Shri Retna Raj (who worked in the Department of Technical Education, Kerala) and Smt Chella Thayee (who worked in the Health Department of the government of Kerala), he had an elder brother Reginald Pavithran, who joined the IAF. Inspired by his brother, he too joined the Indian Air Force on 02 Feb 1990 before attaining the age of 18. In the Indian Air Force, he got trained as an instrument fitter and was posted to the Air Force base at Ambala after two years of training. From Ambala, he was sent for maintenance conversion flight training of Jaguar aircraft at the IAF base Gorakhpur. Meanwhile, he completed his degree from Kakatiya University in sociology and got selected as an officer in the Indian army.

After undergoing training in OTA Chennai, he was commissioned on 5th Sep 1997 into 158 Med Regt(Self Propelled) of the Regiment of Artillery, an important combat support arm of the Indian Army, well known for its booming field guns and howitzers.  The Regiment of Artillery raised on 28 September 1827, was initially raised as Bombay Artillery and was later renamed 5 Bombay Mountain Battery. In May 1857, the mutiny by Indian soldiers started in the artillery of the Army of the Bengal Presidency. The incident prompted a complete ban on Indian artillery units, except for the mountain artillery batteries in select provinces. The decision was reversed in the mid-1930s when the first of the Field Regiments of the Indian Army was raised, with the motto of ‘Sarvatra Izzat-O-Iqbal’ meaning ‘Everywhere with Honour and Glory’. As his first assignment, he was sent to serve with his unit 158 Med Regt at Meerut and thereafter he went for the Young Officers’ course. Soon Capt Jerry Prem Raj developed into a proud "gunner" as the officers from the Regiment of Artillery are called.

Battle of Point 4875 (Kargil War): 05-07July 1999

During the Kargil operation in the year 1999, Capt Jerry Prem Raj’s unit 158 Med Regt was deployed in the Drass sector of J&K. By the third week of May 1999, the legitimacy of the reports about Pakistani infiltration was proven and it had been established that the infiltration had been done on a large scale in various sectors, including the Drass area. The Indian Army quickly mobilized its forces to drive out the Pakistani infiltrators from Indian territory and launched "Operation Vijay". By 05 July 1999, the Indian Army had carried out many successful operations and reoccupied various militarily significant positions. After the capture of the 'Tiger Hill' on 05 July 1999, the next major objective was to capture Point 4875, a feature that dominated the national highway from Mugalpur to Drass, a stretch of approximately 30 km. A feature called 'Rocky Knob' linked it with 'Tiger Hill' and provided an approach to the main administrative base of the enemy. Pt 4875 was divided into many parts which were held by the enemy and included Whaleback, Pimple 1 and Pimple 2, Pt 4875 Southern Slope, and Flat Top, and the Northern side was named as Twin Bumps and Saddle. The attack was planned in two phases with the elements of 17 Jat, 12 Mahar, 13 JAK Rif, 21 Para(SF), and 2 Naga. Capt Jerry Prem Raj was given the responsibility of functioning as the 'Forward Observation Post Officer' with the 2 Naga Battalion in this operation. 

In Phase-I, 17 Jat was to capture 'Pimple 1' and 'Whale Back' from the south by 05 July. 13 JAK Rif was to capture 'South Spur' from the southeast in the same timeframe. In Phase 2, 17 Jat battalion was to capture 'Pimple 2' and 13 JAK Rif was to capture 'Flat Top' by 07 July. 2 Naga battalion was to capture 'Twin Bumps' by first light of 07 July and exploit towards the northwest.  After the achievement of the objective in Phase 1, Phase 2 commenced on the night of 05/06 July with 2 Naga troops along with their Artillery element launching a fierce attack on enemy positions. During the assault, Capt Jerry Prem Raj searched, sought, and identified enemy positions and directed accurate artillery fire onto them with devastating effect. In this endeavor, he was shot by enemy sniper fire. Undeterred, he continued to bring down effective fire on enemy positions. However, he was again hit by a volley of enemy machine gun fire. Though severely wounded, he continued to direct accurate fire on the enemy until he succumbed to his injuries. Capt Jerry Prem Raj was a valiant and committed officer, who laid down his life in the line of his duty. Capt Jerry Prem Raj was given the gallantry award, “Vir Chakra” for his commendable courage, leadership, and supreme sacrifice.

Capt Jerry Prem Raj is survived by his father Shri Retna Raj, mother Smt Chella Thayee, and brother Shri Reginald Pavithran.

The citation Vir Chakra awarded to Capt Jerry Prem Raj reads:-

On the night of 6th/7th July 1999 during “Operation Vijay”, Captain R. Jerry Prem Raj was the Forward Observation Post Officer with the 2 Naga battalion that was tasked to launch an assault on 'Twin Bumps' in the area 'Gun Hill' in Drass sub-sector. During the assault, Captain R. Jerry Prem Raj searched, sought, and identified enemy positions and directed accurate artillery fire onto them with devastating effect.

In this endeavor, he was shot by enemy sniper fire. Undeterred, he continued to bring down effective fire on enemy positions. However, he was again hit by a volley of enemy machine gun fire. Though severely wounded, he continued to direct accurate fire on the enemy until he succumbed to his injuries. By then he had inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy that not only assisted in the capture of the objectives but also helped in minimizing casualties to his own infantry.

Captain R. Jerry Prem Raj displayed bravery of a very high order and tremendous professional acumen with total disregard for his safety and made the supreme sacrifice.

Capt Jerry Prem Raj in the words of his elder brother Reginald Pavithran :

“Jerry was younger than me by three years. At 6 months of age, he won a healthy baby show in our village. He was very healthy at that time. He had long hair. He was looking like a girl at that time. During his school days, he was a very good cricketer. He was a fast bowler and an all-rounder. In his captaincy, their team won the cricket tournament in 10th standard. He was very good at his studies. He studied in Malayalam medium but was very good in English. During his school days, he was the student secretary of Indira Priyadarshini Science Centre in our village. Under his leadership this center organised science exhibitions in the school. He was very God fearing also. He was active in Sunday schools also. He was a very good artist and was very good at pencil sketches. He was a very good cartoonist. From childhood, he was fond of the army. He appeared for NDA but could not clear. Then he tried to join the Navy as a sailor. But in medical he was rejected. Then he joined the Air Force as an airman. But he was not satisfied with it. He was very brave. He was very adamant to become an army officer. He had only one aim. He tried very hard to accomplish his aim and finally achieved it. He was very competitive. Jerry and I brought many trophies and prizes to our home in various competitions.

He was younger than me by three years, but we were like friends, not brothers. Before taking an important decision he will have a consultation with me. He was happy to take my guidance before taking an important step. He was fond of Mohanlal films. He was adept at storytelling. After seeing a film he will explain the story in such a way that I will not have to see the film again. He was a lovable person. His love, affection, and care for others was unparalleled. He was a very social and jolly person. Once u get a chance to talk with him, I bet u will never forget him. He was such a fantastic guy”.

A heart-touching poem by a soldier..

If I died in a war zone, Box me up and send me home,

Put my medals in my chest, N tell my mom i did my best,

N tell my dad not to bow, He will never get tension from me now,

Tell my bro to study perfectly, Keys of my bike will be his permanently,

Tell my sis dont be upset, Her bro will not rise after this sunset,

Don't tell my friends they are hearties, N start 2 ask for parties,

Tell my love not to cry… “COZ IM A Solider.. ..BORN 2 DIE…”