Meet 96-year-old IAF Marshal Arjan Singh who defied odds to pay tribute to Dr APJ Abdul Kalam

New Delhi, July 28: He is 96-year-old. He finds it very difficult to walk. Most of the time, he sits on a wheel chair. But the Marshal of the Indian Air Force (IAF) Arjan Singh defied all odds when it was about former President, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

The Marshal, the only officer of the Indian Air Force to be promoted to five-star rank, paid his last respects to late Dr Kalam at Palam airport on Tuesday, July 28.

Arjan Singh, who hails from Punjab, was born on 15 April 1919. Singh led no 1 Squadron, Indian Air Force into command during the Arakan Campaign in 1944.

He received Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) award in 1944. He also commanded the IAF Exhibition Flight in 1945.

However, he too had landed in serious trouble when he almost faced a court-martial in Feb 1945. According to reports, Singh had tried to raise the morale of an trainee pilot (reports claimed it was future Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh) by conducting a low level air pass over a house in Kerala, but he insisted that such tricks are needed for every cadet to be a fighter pilot.

According to sources, Singh and Dr Kalam had shared a good relation. Dr Kalam's body was flown to Delhi from Guwahati on Tuesday. His last rites will be performed at his home town Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.

OneIndia News