Arlington, Virginia, USA – Uday Singh was the first Sikh to die in battle as a U.S. soldier; and now his headstone displays the first Khanda to appear as an official emblem of belief for government headstones and markers.

More than 260,000 people are buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Veterans from all the nation's wars are buried in the cemetery, from the American Revolution in 1776 to the present day Operation Iraqi Freedom. Important public figures, such as President John F. Kennedy, are also buried there.

The official letter of approval came on June 3, 2004, only five months after the burial ceremony took place at the Arlington National Cemetery. At the burial ceremony, a Liaison Officer asked the family about selecting a religious symbol for the headstone. Because the Khanda was not an approved symbol at the time, the family asked Gurdarshan Singh, a local granthee who performed the last rights, to write an official letter to request a Khanda. A week later, Uday’s father, Preet Mahinder Singh, received word from the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) that it could not be done. There was a formal process that had to be followed.

Preet Mahinder asked the NCA to leave the headstone without a symbol until the issue was resolved. At the time, he was overwhelmed with taking care of his son’s affairs. His sister in Illinois, Harpreet Datt, and a friend in Virginia, Manmohan Singh, attempted to resolve the situation. Preet Mahinder Singh had met Manmohan Singh, who produces local Sikh television and radio programs, at an Ardas ceremony at Gurdwara Guru Nanak Foundation of America (GNFA) in Maryland. “This was very troubling; it is important to have a Sikh symbol,” says Manmohan Singh. He forced the issue.

The process was not a straightforward one. It took a considerable amount of work to find out what the Department of Veterans Affairs, that oversees the NCA, required, recalls Manmohan Singh. An NCA official, Anne White, helped him track down the application information, he says. “ We did a lot of running around.” The DVA required a letter request from a parent of Uday Singh and letter from a Sikh ‘church’ stating that the Khanda is an official Sikh symbol.

The letter from Uday Singh’s father was sent immediately. Preet Mahinder also sent a letter giving authority to Harpreet Datt, Manmohan Singh and Yadvinder Singh, to act on his behalf. Manmohan Singh contacted Yadvinder Singh, President of the American Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (AGPC), regarding the letter from a Sikh ‘church’. Yadvinder Singh thought that he could have the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) in Amritsar to write the letter to the DVA. But as time went by, it became clear that the SGPC was not going to be able to write the letter. Manmohan Singh asked Yadvinder Singh to write the letter on behalf of the AGPC. “After all, the AGPC is an official Sikh religious body that oversees many gurdwaras in the United States,” says Manmohan Singh. The letter was accepted by the DVA.

Again, time went by and no one heard anything from the DVA.

Fate

It was a single bullet that found its way into Uday Singh’s head, just missing his helmet. He and his fellow soldiers from Charlie Company had tracked down Iraqi militants and were engaged in heated battle His unit was a tank regiment that had been equipped with the all-terrain Humvee. But Uday was in the most vulnerable position as a gunner. The upper half of his body was constantly exposed. He was also deployed in a region where they were constantly fired upon.

Specialist Uday Singh, 21, was killed on December 1, 2003, in Habbaniyah, Iraq. He died of injuries sustained when enemy forces attacked his patrol.

“It was fate,” says his grieving father. “He was my only son.”

Uday Singh never wanted to come to America. He was quite happy living a life of luxury in Chandigarh, India, says his father. “But I wanted him to do something meaningful.” They considered going abroad and settled on Lake Forest, Illinois, where his aunt, Harpreet Datt, lived. After finishing high school, Uday Singh came to Lake Forest with his father in 2000.

“We got out of the airport and there was a sign posted to join the military,” recalls his father. And that is what Uday Singh did. It was a natural decision for him. His father and grandfather both served in the Indian military. Uday’s father was commissioned in the Indian Army’s Armored Corps in 1970 and also served in 49 Armored Regiment till he took premature retirement in 1995. His grandfather was a decorated officer in the Royal Indian Air Force.

Uday Singh moved in with his aunt and was studying business in college when he enlisted with the U.S. Army in August 2000. He loved tanks, he had to join an armored unit, says his father. Uday was assigned to Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 34th Armored Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, based in Fort Riley, Kansas. He was sent to support Operation Iraqi Freedom in September 2003.

“I regret sending him here,” says his father.

Preet Mahinder buried his son in two countries. Uday Singh was cremated in Chandigarh. Half of the ashes were released at Gurdwara Kiratpur Sahib, the traditional Sikh burial ground. And the other half was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Uday Singh was granted U.S. citizenship posthumously on January 8, 2004 at the service at Arlington National Cemetery. He was promoted shortly after his death from specialist to sergeant, and was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

Faith

Shortly after the burial ceremony, Preet Mahinder Singh was back in Chandigarh and had not heard anything about the Khanda request. It had been many months. He contacted Army Lt. General Kevin Byrnes whose son was also in Charlie Company with Uday. “He really got things moving,” he says. He also contacted General Dennis Hardy at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. Within 10 days, Preet Mahinder Singh received an email with the picture of his son’s headstone with a Khanda engraved on it. “It was because everyone was working to get it approved that it got approved,” says his sister Harpreet Datt.

On June 3, 2004, Yadvinder Singh of the AGPC received the official notification of approval from the DVA. On June 15, 2003, the Khanda was engraved on the headstone.

Community

Preet Mahinder Singh came to the U.S. a couple of weeks later to finish his son’s affairs and to visit him at the cemetery. “It is a great thing for our community. Back home, we don’t bother about these things. Here, there is more attachment to our roots,” he says. Preet Mahinder says the Sikh community was very supportive and helpful in his time of need. But he resented that some Sikhs tried to politicize the death of his son by using it in the effort to have turbaned Sikhs join the military as soldiers.

“My son has taken care of the community; the community should take care of my son,” says Preet Mahinder. A memorial foundation and a scholarship fund have been set up in memory of Uday Singh. Preet Mahinder is asking the community to contribute generously.

Fate, faith and community are on Preet Mahinder Singh’s mind more often these days as he struggles to absorb the loss of his son.

It was a beautiful and peaceful morning at Arlington National Cemetery when Preet Mahinder Singh and his only daughter, Bani, came to pay their respects. They kneeled down on the green grass and stroked, with love and tears, the only crisp white headstone adorned with a majestic Khanda at Arlington National Cemetery.

Note: Click here for more information on the Sgt. Uday Singh Memorial Foundation and Scholarship Fund.
Click here to see the Khanda on the list of official burial markers of the Department of Veterans Affairs.