The nation paid rich tributes to Filed Marshal SHFJ Manekshaw, former Chief of Army Staff and Independent India’s first Field Marshal, on Monday. It was on June 27, 2008, the Field Marshal breathed his last at the Military Hospital in Wellington.
Wreaths were laid at the final resting place of the revered soldier at Parsi Zoroastrian Cemetery in Udhagamandalam on behalf of the three Services Chiefs, Southern Army Commander and General Officer Commanding, Dakshin Bharat Area.
The senior most General Officer of the Wellington Station Lieutenant General S Mohan, Commandant Defence Service Staff College, Wellington and Station Commander Wellington also laid wreaths and paid their respect.
A release by Madras Regimental Centre,Wellington, said that Field Marshal Manekshaw had settled down at Wellington after active service. “His association with the station goes back to the time when he was Commandant of Defence Service Staff College. He shared a special bond with the Nilgiris and was equally endearing to the local population. A man with unflinching moral courage and exemplary leadership qualities, his life would always remain a source of inspiration to the armed forces and the Nation,” said the release.
Nilgiris residents still remember Sam Manekshaw driving around the hill station in his Sun Beam Rapier car till months before his demise. “It was a treat to watch him driving around. He never had the aura of a VVIP and always used to wave at us when we greeted him,” said Selvaraj, a Nilgiris shopkeeper.