At just 21 years old, Sergeant Uday Singh became the first Indian American casualty of Operation Iraqi Freedom. On December 1, 2003, his unit was ambushed while conducting a routine patrol in Habbaniyah, Iraq. Serving as a Humvee machine gunner, Singh aggressively returned fire to protect his platoon, allowing his comrades to take cover before he sustained fatal gunshot wounds. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart for his ultimate sacrifice.
