Pilla Venkata Narayan Ravi Prasad, VM

Biography

Sergeant Pilla Venkata Narayan Ravi Prasad, widely known as PVNR Prasad, was born on 15 August 1965 in Andhra Pradesh. Drawn to a life in uniform, he enlisted in the Indian Air Force on 18 January 1985. Trained as a flight gunner, he went on to serve with distinction and accumulated close to 1,200 hours of accident- and incident-free flying, earning a reputation as a skilled and dependable member of his helicopter crew. By 1999, Sergeant Prasad was serving with the 152 Helicopter Unit, the 'Mighty Armours', operating the Mi-17 helicopter. During the Kargil War the unit was committed to Operation Safed Sagar, the air campaign launched to clear the intruders from the heights along the Line of Control, flying the Mi-17 in the armed-helicopter role against enemy positions in the Dras and Batalik sectors. On 28 May 1999, Sergeant Prasad was the flight gunner aboard an Mi-17 detailed to attack enemy positions at Point 5140 in the Dras sub-sector. As the helicopter pressed home its rocket attack on the heavily defended heights, it was struck by a shoulder-fired Stinger missile during its breakaway and came down with the loss of its entire crew — Squadron Leader Rajiv Pundir, Flight Lieutenant S Muhilan, Sergeant PVNR Prasad and Sergeant Raj Kishore Sahu. Sergeant Prasad laid down his life in the finest traditions of the Indian Air Force. For his courage and devotion to duty during Operation Safed Sagar, Sergeant Pilla Venkata Narayan Ravi Prasad was posthumously awarded the Vayu Sena Medal.