On 21 November in Sarawak, Borneo, Limbu was in an advance party of 16 Gurkhas when they encountered about 30 Indonesians holding a position on the top of a jungle-covered hill. In November 1965, Limbu was 26 years old, and was a lance corporal in the 2nd Battalion, 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles, British Army during the Indonesian Confrontation. Limbu was born in Chyangthapu village, Tehrathum, in East Nepal, and later lived in Damak.
Rambahadur Limbu belonged to the Begha Clan of Limbu people of Nepal. The result is a record of war and peace that is rare in its honesty and humility.Rambahadur Limbu, VC, MVO ( Nepali: रामबहादुर लिम्बू 8 July 1939 – 22 April 2023) was a Nepalese Gurkha and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. In this compelling narrative Capt Limbu celebrates his Gurkha heritage, relates remarkable stories of courage (his own and others'), and confronts demons that have shaped but never broken him. But even amid the simplicity of mountain life, danger and tragedy lurked. His means of coping with the trauma of conflict was to travel back in his mind to his childhood in a remote Himalayan village in Nepal. On many occasions he has feared he would not live to see the end of the day - and, inevitably, he lost several friends and colleagues from the close-knit Gurkha brotherhood. He talks of other operations in which he has served - and, perhaps most movingly, of the other Gurkha soldiers - the united band of brothers - with whom he serves and on whom he relies every day. On dangerous resupply missions and on offensive patrols that took them to the heart of the 'killing zone', he and his men came under frequent attack from Taliban fighters. Kailash Limbu was in the front line of the fighting in Helmand Province. 'Sometimes my mind reaches back beyond the fear and the arid landscapes of war, to memories of childhood that fill me with happiness and laughter.' So begins this searingly honest memoir by Kailash Limbu, a serving Gurka soldier who undertook five tours of active service in Afghanistan.
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