Wing Commander Purshotam Lal Dhawan was in command of one of the Transport Squadrons in the J &K Area – his third operational assignment in this area. After active hostilities commenced in Ladakh, information was received that Chandni post was under fire and no clear picture was available regarding our posts in the Daulat Beg Oldi area. Wing Commander Dhawan, knowing that he would encounter enemy fire, successfully carried out a complete reconnaissance over the area before landing at Daulat Beg Oldi and obtained information about the latest situation in the forward posts in that area. When our troops were retreating from Daulat Beg Oldi, Wing Commander Dhawan located them and dropped essential winter clothing and food without which they could not have survived.

Wing Commander Purshotam Lal Dhawan , displayed courage and devotion to duty of a high order.

Wing Commander Surinder Singh has been commanding a transport squadron since September 1966. This squadron has been primarily responsible for the air maintenance of far-flung areas on the Northern border. Despite many difficulties, he reorganised the Squadron which enabled it to meet special commitments at short notice. He has flown over 1,500 hours in the hazardous terrain in NEFA, Naga Hills, etc. He has also undertaken numerous flights for flood relief in the country. He served with UNEF in the Congo in 1960, where he flew a number of missions in complete disregard of his safety. Throughout, Wing Commander Surinder Singh displayed courage and devotion to duty.

Wing Commander Rajagopal Shriramulu Naidu took over the command of an operational squadron in April, 1970. The squadron was faced with a number of maintenance problems and at the same time was allotted a significant increase in its flying task. By intelligent planning, hard work and effective supervision, Wing Commander Naidu ensured the completion of the allotted task. In addition to this, he was assigned the task of planning and execution of certain exercises and displays. In this also, he showed excellent results. He has a total of 8,125 hours of flying to his credit, of which more than 1,000 hours have been by night. He is also a very successful flying instructor.

Squadron Leader Nestor Joseph De Conceicao is serving as a Flight Commander in an Operational Squadron. He has flown over 5,140 hours without an accident, including 1,475 hours of instructional flying and 1,338 hours on operational missions. He has been responsible for training and supervision of pilots in the air maintenance role. Recently, on an air maintenance mission to an advanced landing ground, his aircraft had an engine failure. He took correct and timely action in the emergency and landed the aircraft safely.