Group Captain Varun Singh's note to school kids has an inspiring message for all

In a tragic development, Indian Air Force Group Captain Varun Singh, the lone survivor of the fatal helicopter crash that killed Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 other military personnel in Tamil Nadu's Coonoor has passed away. He had advised schoolchildren to never lose hope in a letter he wrote after being awarded the Shaurya Chakra in August 2021.    

Group Captain Varun Singh was awarded the Shaurya Chakra for the courage he expressed in handling his Tejas fighter jet after it faced a major technical issue during his sortie in October 2020. An alumnus of Army Public School, Chandimandir in Haryana, Group Captain Singh wrote to the Principal of his former school in September. 

"If I am able to inspire even one child to believe him/her in himself/herself I would have achieved my objective of writing to you," Group Captain Varun Singh said.  

'Never lose hope': Group Captain Varun Singh in his letter

In his letter, the IAF officer talked about his time as a student. He revealed that he was an average student academically and athletically but went on to score in the first division in his class 12 board exams. He was always passionate about aeroplanes and aviation, he informed.

Group Captain Singh mentioned that he had represented his school in the Aeronautical Society of India twice and secured second and third positions. He then talked about his time at the National Defence Academy (NDA), from where he passed out as OC (Officer Cadet).

"Never lose hope, never think that you cannot be good at what you want to be. It will not come easy. It will take effort, it will require sacrifice of time and comfort," he wrote.

Read the full letter here: 

(With inputs from ANI, Image: ANI)