The Great Gurkha Infiltration

 

    First, I must explain the Gurkhas were British troops.  The Gurkha was a native of the province of Nepal, north of India, and one of the best fighting men ever to don a uniform.  Oh how happy we were that they were on our side.

    One day it was decided to test the security at Mohanbari.  The plan was that we were to set up a perimeter guard and the Gurkhas would try to infiltrate the base.  I was not scheduled to fly so I was given four or five enlisted men and a stretch of the perimeter, maybe 50 to 75 yards, to guard.  Other officers and men were given parts of the perimeter for the entire part of the base that was involved in the exercise.  The Gurkhas were to try to infiltrate through the section that we were guarding.  The exercise started, I guess, about 20:00 hours and was to be over about 22:30 hours.  With the men assigned to me we patrolled our section diligently and are sure that no one passed through it during the exercise.  Later talking to the other officers involved they had the same story.  In short, no one infiltrated the base that night.  Now, the Gurkhas were given a piece of chalk and if they did get through the line they were to mark where they had been with a chalk X.  We all went to bed confident that we had foiled the infiltration of the base.  WRONG.  When daylight came we found white chalk X's all over the place.  Even on the bottom of pots in the pantry.  How they got in and got back out I will never know.

   Like I said, we were glad they were on our side as each of them was armed with a Kukri.  This is a very sharp knife and the Gurkhas were experts in using it.

   Aside:  A Gurkha never removed the Kukri from its scabbard that it did not draw blood.  If he drew it just to show it to you he would cut his finger before replacing it in the scabbard.  It had to draw blood.

   That they got through, apparently so easily, was kinda embarrassing.

 

 

Taken from the book There Was A Rainbow Around My Shoulders by Lt. Col. Arthur W. Sutton Jr., USAF Retired.  Used with permission.

 

Footnote:  Col. Sutton has always expressed supreme admiration and respect for the Gurkha troops that helped to guard the perimeters at the airbases in Assam.  On May 15, 2006, he had the pleasure of joining me at the home of my very good friend, Col. G. L. "Jimmy" Rai-Zimmdar, formerly of a Gurkha battalion, now retired.  Col. "Jimmy" and his family served us a delightful dinner, and it was an exciting event for all of us.  Col. Rai-Zimmdar is the author of a new book, The Legend of the Gurkhas, the story of the Gurkha troops as told from the perspective of a Gurkha.

 

(Col. Rai-Zimmdar was not associated with the Gurkha troops in Assam at the time Col. Sutton was there, being only 8 or 9 years old at the time.) 

 

If you should have any questions about the Gurkhas or any related subject, Col. Rai-Zimmdar, "Jimmy", will be happy to answer them.  You may contact him at greenshield1@optilink.us