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Walong War Memorial In Arunachal Pradesh

Written by Sudhir Kumar

Walong War Memorial is a small cantonment and administrative town in the Anjaw District of the state of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India. Walong is also the easternmost town in India Anjaw was carved out of Lohit District in 2004.

About Walong War Memorial :

Walong is a tiny cantonment and administrative town in the Anjaw District of Arunachal Pradesh. Anjaw was a part of Lohit District Till 2004.

Walong had witnessed a fierce Battle of Walong in 1962 when the outnumbered Indian Army 11th Infantry Brigade blocked the thrust of the invading Chinese. The Brigade fought strongly between 22nd October and 16 November 1962 until it was reduced to pitiful remnants and then withdrew down the valley to Hayuliang. The Chinese who had suffered big casualties did not follow up beyond Chagwinty.

The main place you should visit in Walong is the War Memorial which was erected in the memory of the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the noble mission of saving their land from invasion.

History :

In autumn of 1962 Walong was the scene of the Battle of Walong when the Indian Army 11th Infantry Brigade battled the Chinese advances. Even though Indians where forced to withdraw, this turned out to be one of the bloodiest battle of the war. The sikh, gorkha and kumaoni soldiers suffered heavy casualties but the Chinese suffered immense losses. As the battle ended the number of Chinese dead where five times that of the Indians[citation needed]. This was especially significant considering that the Chinese used heavy mortar fire while the Indians had no mortar support.
A canopied memorial to the Indian war dead of 1962 was erected long ago next to the airstrip with the following verses composed by a Walong veteran inscribed on it:
The sentinel hills that round us stand
bear witness that we loved our land.
Amidst shattered rocks and flaming pine
we fought and died on Namti Plain.
O Lohit gently by us glide
pale stars above us softly shine
as we sleep here in sun and rain.
Next to this is a marker relating the history of Walong ALG, and nearby the wreck of a Caribou which crashed here. A new large memorial to the Walong war dead of 1962 has come up in 2002 on the road leading North to Kibithu.Two small temples have also come up on ‘Helmet Top’, a hill position some 18 kilometres away, which was so named because of helmets and other military gear found strewn there.

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Sudhir Kumar

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