“If a man says he isn’t afraid of dying, he is either a liar or a Gurkha.”
— Sam Manekshaw.
Visakhapatnam, India. (April 13, 2025): In this photo by 1st Sergeant James Tomlinson, a Soldier assigned to Bayonet Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 11th Airborne Division, provides cover for an Indian Army Gurkha rifleman. The Gurkhas are natives of Nepal with a fearsome reputation for effectiveness in combat. The Americans were in India participating in this year’s Tiger Triumph exercises.
The British Army “discovered” these fierce fighters early in the 19th century and hired them to protect its interests in neighboring India. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, Gurkhas fought on the British side where they were officially became known as the Gurkha Rifles.
During World War I, the Gurkha Rifles fought in Burma, Afghanistan, Northeast India and Malta. From 1914 to 1918, more than 200,000 Gurkhas served in the British Army, suffering approximately 20,000 casualties and receiving almost 2,000 gallantry awards. During World War II, some 250,00 Gurkhas fought in Syria, North Africa, Italy, Greece and against the Japanese in the jungles of Burma and also Singapore. Today, the British Army has four thousand Gurkha Rifles on active duty with a large reserve unit used for peacekeeping missions.
For the American Soldiers, training with these legendary fighters was its own reward.