The Mule with a Vr C Hardly anyone outside the ASC knows this. One GS mule named Pedongi is the proud recipient of the Vir Chakra! The true story goes something like this >>> During the 1971 war, an AT convoy in J&K came under ground attack by Pak army. As per teaching, the AT drivers scattered their mules and went for cover, while the Infantry section accompanying the convoy went into counter-attack. During re-grouping it was discovered that 3 mules were captured and taken away by the Pakistanis, and Pedongi was one of them. This usually happens; and whenever they get a chance, our troops also kidnap Pakistani mules. Since the training of the mules is the same on both sides, and so is the harness and saddlery, captured mules are simply put to work. Sure enough, Pedongi was also made to haul rations, water-pakhals and other loads in Pakistan. But a fortnight after her capture, Pedongi reported back in her unit in the Indian Army. And she was carrying a Paki MMG with two boxes of ammunition! From the way Pedongi was exhausted, it was estimated that she somehow escaped her Pakistani handlers and ran back almost 20 kms to her own unit in India. For this act of extreme bravery in the face of the enemy, the Div Commander asked the CO AT Battalion to write Pedongis citation, and made sure she got a VrC. Now, what does a VrC mean for a mule? Well, it meant that she never carried a load thereafter. She just ate & drank and roamed around freely in the unit, till she died of old age in 1978. The above story is open for verification at ASC Center & College, Bangalore, where the medal is preserved to date, along with Pedongis photograph. ASC and its unsung heroes........ CHEERS......
Posted on: Sat, 31 May 2014 12:29:55 +0000
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