14 January is commemorated as the Armed Forces Veterans Day as a mark of respect and recognition for the services rendered by Field Marshall KM Cariappa, the first Indian Chief of the Indian Army. He retired from service on 14 January 1953.
In order to celebrate the Armed Forces Veterans Day, AoA Lotus Boulevard Espacia invited veterans residing in the society for a High Tea on Sunday, 14 January 2024 in Club Platino. Vice President AoA, Group Captain Shailesh Mithal (Retd.) welcomed Lt. Gen. Prem Goel PVSM, AVSM, VSM (Retd.), Lt. Gen. PS Bhalla PVSM, AVSM (Retd.), Brig. PS Dhot VSM (Retd.) and other veterans.
Group Captain Mithal (Retd.) invited the veterans to share experiences from their service career and narrate interesting anecdotes close to their hearts. Hearing of the valiant contributions made by the veterans in the battlefield towards protecting our borders and diligently accomplishing assignments on which they were deployed makes us all immensely proud.
It is heartening to note that many of the officers are still actively contributing to the nation building process, keeping alive the ‘jazba’ of the forces. Officers sang and crooned songs from the days gone by. This was followed by a tea party.
In her closing address, President AOA, Mrs Sudha Sharma expressed her profound gratitude at the seminal contribution made by the veterans from the services and reaffirmed that it is the nation’s responsibility to always stand by its soldiers.
