A tribute to the warriors

A tribute to the warriors
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Highlights

Entering through the iron gates of the EME War Memorial at Trimulgherry leaves one with the feelings of pride and reverence towards the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the sake of their motherland. An inscription in front of the cenotaph which reads, “They answered their duty\'s call. Their lives they gave for one and all\" is a reminder of the patriotism and courage that the army personnel d

Trimulgherry: Entering through the iron gates of the EME War Memorial at Trimulgherry leaves one with the feelings of pride and reverence towards the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the sake of their motherland. An inscription in front of the cenotaph which reads, “They answered their duty's call. Their lives they gave for one and all" is a reminder of the patriotism and courage that the army personnel displayed even during their last breath.

While several Corps of the Electronic and Mechanical Engineers had lost their lives in the course of offering technical assistance to the fighting forces, many of them have also died while defending their wounded companions or ensuring the safety of the Indian army's weaponry. The memorial is thus, a rich tribute to these brave warriors whose martyrdom is a source of inspiration to millions of people in the country and the future generations.

Designed by Eric Marret, chief architect of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh government, the memorial was dedicated to the Corps of EME on 7th October 1967. Surrounded by well maintained beautiful gardens on all sides, the memorial comprises a four-sided tapering stone pillar as tall as 7.62 meters mounted on a magnificent square pedestal spread over 5.4 meters of the memorial land.

Tablets bearing names of the deceased EME officers, Junior commissioned officers and personnel of other ranks who succumbed to battle casualties are placed on three sides of the obelisk and also engraved on slabs to either side of it.

While there are currently 357 names inscribed, officials of EME shared that another 690 of them are yet to be added at the memorial to honour the bravehearts who succumbed to injuries in various wars and confrontations like the Indo-Pak War (1947-48), Indo-China War (1962), Operation Meghdoot, Operation Pawan to name a few.

In 2017, the EME War Memorial was conferred with the INTACH Hyderabad Heritage Award by the Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) honouring the memory of fallen members of Corps which has been maintained with complete respect and care. Such is the value of the war memorial that senior officers who take charge at the EME Centre or leave it, visit the obelisk to pay their homages to the valiant souls.

Not just those are serving in EME, even the retired personnel of the wing have several sentiments attached to the memorial and also those who made their place in them.

“The EME Centre has given me a lot of memories but also most importantly instilled values of hard work, commitment, patriotism, and compassion into me for which I will always be indebted. I can never forget those days." expresses Colonel Vijaraghavan, Secretary of the Retired EME Officers Association.

So what better way to celebrate our Republic Day than to salute all those unsung heroes of our nation who have put their lives at risk to protect our future!

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