Colva: In November 1963, immediately after the 1962 Indo-China War, Major Edward Diego Fernandez from Anjuna from the corps of the engineer was killed in a helicopter accident near the Chinese border at the age of 35 years, leaving his wife Norma and three small children – Franco, 4 , Agnello, 3, and Putri Rita, 11 months.
The incident occurred during the construction of an airfield for the Air Force at the Northeast Border Agency (NEFA), now Arunachal Pradesh.
Franco himself a civil engineer, who retired as the executive engineer PWD in 2019, remembered that the army at that time (after his father died) sent his family a warning photo built by them for his father and two other people who died.
Along with him in the accident, turn it on as a child who wants to see it.
Meanwhile, his mother died in 2018.
He tried every opportunity given to get a clue about the existence of his father’s warning.
His desire began to be realized in July this year when his cousin Farah, married Brigadier Sumer D’Cunha from Curorim, is now posted in Guwahati – Assam, mentioning that he and her husband visited Arunachal Pradesh.
Farah General Eustace Fernandez, the youngest brother of Edward Major Major was in troops too.
He was killed in Kashmir in 1994 only three days before being elevated as a General to take over as the Director General of Military Intelligence.
Farah told him that he remembered his father and his uncle Edward because they were both posted in the area during their services in the Army.
Seeing the ray of hope in fulfilling his dream, Franco claimed that he sent him a picture.
Brigadier D’Cunha immediately reached out to his colleagues and asked them to do what was needed.
In two days the army lies a warning in the midst of thick vegetation.
Franco revealed that the Army told him that the airfield was now cut by the Brahmaputra (known as the afternoon river in Arunachal Pradesh) and the area was handed over to civilians.
One side of the airport is cultivated by the locals while the other side where the warning is covered with thick vegetation.
“I immediately asked military officials to allow me to visit the place and saluted my father and they easily agree.” It was planned during the Ganesh Chaturthi holiday in September and this military official made all arrangements for our visit and stayed.
“On September 8, accompanied by my son Edward (named after Edward), flew out of the cave to Dibrugarh through Guwahati.
The next morning when landing, a young Major received us at the airport and drove us to Likabali where the general officer ordered General General Rajiv Ghai along with other officials’ officers for us.
After lunch, the department and his men drove us to the ray where we spent the night because it was too late to continue to Yinkiyong, the memorial place was.
“On September 10, they reached Yinkiyong where The army has arranged a small but serious ceremony with a bouquet of flowers for us to be placed in a warning, he told.
“While respecting my father, emotions flood me, and I broke down.” Major was very supportive and involved so he urged us to spend a lot of time possible because it has been 58 years.
The soldiers described Lay of the Land which showed how the afternoon river had cut an airport.