Must give him a smiling sendoff says wife of Brigadier Lidder

New Delhi, Dec 10: We must give a good farewell, a smiling sendoff. I am a soldier's wife. I have nothing more to say. It is a big loss, Geetika Lidder, the wife of Brigadier Lakhwinder Singh Lidder said.

"I am going to be 17. So he was with me for 17 years, we will go ahead with happy memories. It's a national loss. My father was a hero, my best friend, Aashna Lidder, the Brigadier's daughter said after the funeral.

The scenes at the funeral were heartbreaking. News agency ANI shared visuals that showed Geetika in tears kneeling by the head of her husband's coffin. The coffin was draped in a national flag and decked with flowers. The daughter was by her mother's side holding back tears.

Brigadier Lidder was killed in the air crash in which 12 others including Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat and his wide Madhulika Rawat were killed.

Brigadier Lidder was General Rawat's top aide and had been approved for promotion to Major General.

He was due to take command of a division, when he another boarded the ill-fated chopper.

He was commissioned two the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles in December 1990 and served as General Rawat's Defence Assistant since January. He also commanded a Brigade in the northern border and led his battalion in Congo as part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force. He was also a Director at the Military Operations Directorate.