U.S. Army Specialist Uday Singh, a Sikh American Soldier from Lake Forest Illinois, Died During Combat in Iraq

For the inconsolable former officer, who had given his blood and sweat to defend the nation, it was perhaps an odd twist of destiny for his son getting killed in a foreign land in someone’ else’s war.

Uday had passed out from St Stephen’s School, Sector 45, about three years ago. Being a Green Card holder, he joined the US Army immediately thereafter. According to family members, he had planned to work for two years in the army and then pursue higher studies. He, however, opted to continue in the army and was sent to Iraq.

His patrol, a part of Task Force All American, was ambushed on December 1 near Habbaniyah and he was hit by small arms fire. He was evacuated to the Forward Operating Base, St Mere, where he succumbed to his injuries. Three Iraqis were also captured in the encounter. He was the sole casualty in the encounter.

While his parents were unable to talk about the tragedy, other family members said Uday had been decorated for gallantry twice, earlier during an operation in Kuwait and again in the ongoing war.

They said Uday was very close to his father, who owns a service station in Sector 17. He often used to tell his father not to worry about him. Uday has an 11-year-old sister, Bani, who is studying at Sanawar. Friends and family associates remember him as a cheerful person, who was soft-spoken and respectful.

Uday had visited his parents for a few days in March, and just a few weeks ago, had written to them from Iraq, where he mentioned about an ear injury which had affected his hearing. A family friend recalled that he had also written to his grandmother recently.

Two military officers from the US embassy in New Delhi conveyed the news of Uday’s death to his father, Lt-Col (retd) P.M. Singh, at his Sector 18 home. A third-generation soldier, Uday had enlisted in the US Army on August 28, 2001.

Singh was in shock when the HT team visited him on Wednesday. He was being consoled by relatives and friends. Uday’s friends and batchmates from school were also present at the house. Some of them had spoken to him over the phone just a few days back.

Singh said Uday received 16 weeks of training at Fort Knox in Kentucky and was assigned to the Ist Batallion, 34th Armour Regiment, 1st Infantry Division in Fort Riley, Kansas. His unit was deployed in Iraq on September 8, 2003 after being initially based in Kuwait.

Uday was killed when his unit was attacked while on a patrol in Habbaniyah. He was in a Humvee vehicle as a gunner when it was ambushed. He died on the way to hospital. Exact details are still not available as the official version will be provided by US Army officers when they visit Singh.

Recalling their last conversation, Singh said Uday had told him that though his unit was a tank regiment, they had been equipped with the all-terrain Humvee. "He said he was in the most vulnerable position as a gunner because the upper half of his body was constantly exposed," said Singh.

Uday had also told his father that his unit’s area of deployment was in the Sunni triangle of Habbaniyah, Ramadi and Falluja and that their vehicles were shot at 30 times a day on an average. "We do not know who the enemy is," Uday had said.

A family member said that though the US Army wanted to bury Uday in the Arlington National Cemetery, Singh wanted the body to be brought to Chandigarh for cremation. But first, an autopsy will have to be performed in Dallas.

Clutching his son’s citation, Singh said that during his brief army career, Uday got the Army Achievement Medal for meritorious services during deployment in Kuwait. "Your professionalism and warrior attitude were key to Task Force Centurian’s success and reflect credit on the 1st Infantry Division and the US Army," the citation reads.

Uday had moved to his aunt’s home in Chicago’s Lake Forest suburb in 1998 and had planned to enroll in high school there. He changed his mind and returned to Chandigarh to finish schooling before returning to the US in 2000.

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 03, 2003 09:44:13 PM ]

WASHINGTON: India may not have helped the US with troops , but an Indian family has sacrificed its son for the American cause with the familiar death by ambush in Iraq.
Army specialist Uday Singh, 21, died on Monday after an attack in Habbaniyah, the Department of Defence announced on Tuesday.

Singh, a recent immigrant to the US whose parents still live in Chandigarh, was assigned to C Company, 1st Battalion, 34th Armoured Regiment, 1st Infantry Division of Fort Riley, Kansas, officials said.

Singh was still an Indian national and a US Green Card holder on the threshold of becoming a US citizen.

In fact, his citizenship papers had just been cleared and he had written to his family over the weekend saying he was returning to the US in January to be sworn in as a citizen. He also said that he had been promoted to a sergeant.

"His father told us he was on patrol when he was shot and died on the way to hospital," said Singh’s uncle, Prem Jay Datt, of Lake Forest, Chicago, told the local media.

Singh was born, raised and schooled in India and had migrated to the US as recently as 2000, the family said.

He apparently first visited the US in 1998 and took up a job in a local McDonald’s outside Chicago, earning his own paycheck as a teenager for the first time and discovering the magic of immigrant opportunity in America.

"He loved it," said his aunt, Harpreet Datt told the local Chicago Tribune. "He saw that the country gave him opportunities on a personal level. He had freedom to try new stuff, he had the freedom to earn a living."  

The teenager then returned to India to finish high school and came back to the US in 2000, when he enlisted in the Army and served briefly in Kuwait while waiting to advance his Green Card into US citizenship (permanent residents are allowed to serve in the US military).
Singh came from a military family, his uncle said. Singh’s father served in the Indian army and his grandfather served in the British army when India was still under British rule.

The family said that young Uday saw the US military as a passport to citizenship and a college degree. "He planned to save enough money and go to college," Datt said. "He wanted to get a degree and do well in life."

Daily Herald: War with Iraq
http://www.dailyherald.com/special/iraq/wwi_story.asp?intID=3795829
Area man dies in attack
Associated Press

LAKE FOREST – A soldier from the Chicago suburb of Lake Forest was killed in Iraq when his unit was attacked while on patrol, the Department of Defense announced Tuesday.

Army Spc. Uday Singh, 21, died Monday after an attack in Habbaniyah, Iraq, military officials said. He was assigned to C Company, 1st Battalion, 34th Armored Regiment, 1st Infantry Division of Fort Riley, Kan.

"His father told us he was on patrol when he was shot and died on the way to the hospital," said Singh’s uncle, Prem Jay Datt, of Lake Forest. He said the Indian-born Singh’s parents live in Chandigarh, India, a town near New Delhi.

"We got a call from his dad at 7 a.m. (Tuesday) morning," Datt said. "My wife goes for her walk at 6 a.m. this morning and the moment she came back the phone rang. She picked it up and she knew right away it was the worse.

"Singh moved to Lake Forest in the summer of 1998 to live with his uncle and aunt and had planned to enroll in high school, Datt said. But he said his nephew changed his mind and returned home to finish high school before returning to the United States, where he enlisted in the Army in 2000.

Singh came from a military family, his uncle said. He said the soldier’s father served in the Indian army and his grandfather served in the British military when India was still under British rule.

"He planned to save up enough money and go to college," Datt said. "He wanted to get a degree and do well in life.

"In the meantime, Singh was pursuing his U.S. citizenship. In fact, the Datts on Saturday received a letter from Singh saying that he planned to return to the U.S. to be sworn in as a citizen in January.