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FATEHGARH SAHIB: The 21-year-old US Marine Corporal Gurpreet Singh from California, died in Helmand province, Afghanistan on June 22 from wounds received while conducting combat operations in Afghanistan.
According to information received, Cpl. Singh was assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, based at Camp Pendleton, California. Gurpreet was killed in the Sangin region of Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, long a Taliban stronghold. Gurpreet, who hails from Antelope (California), will be cremated as per Sikh rituals. The Department of Defense of US has confirmed the death of the Marine, who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
It may be mentioned here that 21-year-old US Army Sergeant Uday Singh became the first Indian to die in Operation Iraqi freedom when his convoy was ambushed in Habbaniyah near Baghdad on December 1, 2003. Chandigarh resident Lt Col Preet Mohinder Singh’s son Uday Singh studied in St Stephen's School, Sector 45, Chandigarh and after getting a Green Card, he joined the US Army and was sent to Iraq. Uday showed his mettle during the company's deployment in Kuwait from August to December 2001 and was awarded the Army Achievement Medal for his meritorious services. On September 8, 2003 his company moved to Iraq.
Gurpreet's death came the same day as President Obama's announcement that, beginning next month, the U.S. would begin a drawdown of troops in Afghanistan toward a goal of 33,000 service men and women pulled out by the end of 2012.
Memorial
in Gurpreet's Memory
Pics courtesy: http://www.sikhchic.com/article-detail.php?cat=8&id=2534