Courage

London MIRROR: A fearless Gurkha who single-handedly fought off an attack by up to 30 Taliban soldiers has been awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross. Acting Sergeant Dipprasad Pun, 31, above, fired 400 rounds and launched 17 grenades to thwart the assault on his checkpoint in Afghanistan. He also beat away an insurgent with the tripod of his machine gun when the weapon stopped working. The Gurkha ran out of ammunition but detonated a mine to repel the final two Taliban fighters.

I've been in awe of these amazing warriors for some time--check out this earlier post. A Nepalese Ghurka plays a key role in my current novel-in-progress, THE LOTUS ASSASSIN. For more pix and details on Sergeant Pun, click HERE.