Abdul Hamid ( soldier ) Havildar Abdul Hamid ( July 1 , 1933 – September 10 , 1965 ) was a soldier in the 4th Battalion , The Grenadiers of the Indian Army , who died in the Khem Karan sector during the Indo - Pakistani War of 1965 , and was the posthumous recipient of the Republic of India ' s highest military decoration , the Param Vir Chakra . Early life . Abdul Hamid was born in a Muslim Darzi family at Dhamupur village of Ghazipur District of Uttar Pradesh on July 1 , 1933 , the son of Mohammad Usman , who was also a wrestler . Army . Abdul Hamid was enrolled into The Grenadiers infantry regiment as army number 239885 on 27 December 1954 . He was later posted in the 4th Battalion of the regiment where he served all his service life . During his service , Abdul Hamid served with his battalion in Agra , Amritsar , Jammu & Kashmir , Delhi , NEFA and Ramgarh . During the Sino - Indian War of 1962 , Hamid ' s battalion was part of 7th Infantry Brigade commanded by Brigadier John Dalvi , and participated in the battle of Namka Chu against the Chinese . Surrounded and cut off , the battalion had made a fighting breakaway into Bhutan by foot and then to Misamari . A young officer , 2 Lt GVP Rao had been awarded a posthumous Maha Vir Chakra , the highest gallantry award won by the battalion since Independence till Hamid ' s own award eclipsed it . During his service , he was awarded the following service medals : Indo - Pak War . After five years of service in the anti - tank section Abdul Hamid had recently been promoted and given charge of quartermaster stores of his company . As he was the best 106mm recoilless rifle shot in the battalion , he was reverted to his former charge as NCO commanding the battalion ' s recoilless rifle platoon . In the Lahore sector of operations , 4 Mountain Division of India , having been rebuffed in its advance to the Ichhogil by the Pakistani counter - offensive , fell back to the Khem Kharan area . In the new defence plan of the Division , 4 Grenadiers , along with three other battalions of the division formed a defense line between Assal Uttar and Chima villages on the Khem Karan - Bhikhiwind - Amritsar road and the Patti axis . 4 Grenadiers was on the northern flank in general area of Chima village while other battalions were to the south ending with its sister battalion , 7 Grenadiers , in Asal Uttar village itself . Earlier the battalion had captured its objective on the Ichhogil canal but being outflanked by the Pakistani counter - offensive was ordered back to new positions . It had already been in combat for more than 24 hours when it began digging trenches and weapon pits in its defensive positions . The battalion defended area was covered with cotton and sugarcane fields and the battalion was able to camouflage its location , using ploughed fields for field of fire . The 106mm recoilless guns were deployed along the Khem Karan - Amritsar road . On September 8 , the enemy made repeated probing attacks on the 4th Grenadiers position . The battalions recoilless weapons and automatics were effectively sited by Hamid ' s company officers , Lt H . R . Jahnu and 2Lt V . K . Vaid . That afternoon Abdul Hamid destroyed two Patton tanks , the commander of one of which asked Hamid for directions just before Hamid destroyed the tank . On 10 September 1965 at 0800 hours , a battalion of Pakistani armour supported by Patton tanks attacked the 4th Grenadier positions but was unable to locate the battalion ' s defenses . The attack preceded by intense artillery bombardment to soften the target and to garner a heavy fire in an attempt to draw Indian response . By 0900 hours , the enemy tanks had penetrated the forward company positions . In the melee , Hamid saw a group of Pattons heading towards his battalion defenses . Seeing the gravity of the situation , he moved out to a flank with his gun mounted on a jeep . Intense enemy shelling and tank fire did not deter him . He fired continuously knocking out three Pattons one after another but was killed by tank fire from the fourth before he could engage it . Successful actions by Indian armour , artillery and infantry anti - tank actions , such as those of Abdul Hamid , tarnished the reputation of the M48 Patton and after the 1965 war , the M48 was largely replaced by the M60 . India set up a war memorial named " Patton Nagar " ( " Patton Town " ) in Khemkaran District , where the captured Pakistani Patton tanks are displayed . Citation . Company Quarter Master Havildar Abdul Hamid was honoured with the highest war time gallantry medal , Param Vir Chakra , posthumously . While his citation gives him credit for three tanks destroyed ; in fact he had destroyed no less than 7 enemy tank s . This is because the citation for Abdul Hamid ' s PVC was sent on the evening on 9 September 1965 but he destroyed 3 more tanks on the previous day , plus the seventh one which also killed him . The award was announced on 16 September 1965 , less than a week after the battle that cost his life . The award was presented to his spouse , Rasoolan Bibi by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan , then President of India during the 1966 Republic Day Parade . Legacy . In his memory , a mausoleum was constructed on his grave by the 4th Grenadiers at Asal Uttar and each year a " mela " is organised on the date of his martyrdom . The residents of Asal Uttar have named and operate a dispensary , library and school in the village . In his honour , the Army Postal Service issued a special cover on 10 September 1979 . In the 1988 Television serial " Param Vir Chakra " by Chetan Anand , Abdul Hamid is played by actor Naseeruddin Shah . A pictorial postage stamp of value Rs 3 was issued by India Post on 28 January 2000 as part of a set of five postage stamps on gallantry award winners . The stamp had Abdul Hamid ' s bust on it along with an illustration of a jeep with recoilless rifle . Hamid ' s widow , Rasoolan Bibi had met President of India Pratibha Patil in Lucknow in 2008 with a number of requests including creation of a military recruitment center in his village , converting Hamid ' s home in Dullapur into a memorial , observing the day of his martyrdom as an occasion at the national level and help for her grandchildren to get government employment . A memorial to Abdul Hamid was constructed in his home village of Dhamupur but later fell into neglect . The memorial was renovated in 2011 by the Flags of Honour Foundation on Hamid ' s 46th death anniversary . The renovation included the installation of a new statue of him , repair and painting of gates and boundary and improvement of the garden . Indian Member of Parliament Rajeev Chandrasekhar , founder of Flags of Honour , spoke on the occasion .