Image courtesy of http://www.battlefield-site.co.uk/traditions.htm.I was honored to be invited to a ceremonial dinner tonight. Bishnu, one of our loyal Ghurka's, asked me, along with a number of the other US personnel that live on this camp, to attend a special dinner tonight. The dinner was their way of honoring our outgoing general officer and welcoming the new. Each general was presented with a ceremonial Nepalese hat adorned with the Ghurka crest. These very capable and dedicated men are some of the finest soldiers in the world. Their bravery and ability is legendary. I was proud to have been invited and to attend their ceremony. The dinner consisted of a freshly butchered goat (slaughtered and barbecued directly under the window of my room) with Nepalese rice, vegetables, and rice and coconut pudding. It was delicious.
The Ghurka motto: Kaphar hunnu bhanda marnu ramro (Better to die than live a coward). One of the stories that I heard when I arrived here was this: A group of three Ghurkas went into town to buy a goat for a barbecue. They were accosted (sometimes people that work with the coalition forces are also targeted for violence) and all three were shot, one of them fatally. The other two, already shot and bleeding heavily, chased down the man that had killed their comrade, and killed him with their bare hands. They then ran across town to the embassy for protection. When asked why they killed the man, their reply was that it was what their honor required them to do.
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