World War II Victoria Cross Recipient. A native of Nepal, he was gazetted for the award posthumously on December 26, 1944 for his actions as a rifleman in the 1st Battalion, 9th Gurkha Rifles, of the British Indian Army on 18/19 September 1944 at the Battle of San Marino, Italy during the Allied Italian Campaign of World War II. Born in Ghalechap, Jyamaruk, Nepal, he enlisted in the British Indian Army in November 1942 and was assigned to the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations. During the Battle of San Marino he was killed in combat at the age of 22. His Victoria Cross citation reads: "On 18/19 September 1944 at San Marino, Italy, when a company of the 9th Gurkha Rifles encountered bitter opposition from a German prepared position, Rifleman Sher Bahadur Thapa and his section commander, who was afterwards badly wounded, charged and silenced an enemy machine-gun. The rifleman then went on alone to the exposed part of a ridge where, ignoring a hail of bullets, he silenced more machine-guns, covered a withdrawal and rescued two wounded men before he was killed." His Victoria Cross his held by the 9th Gurkha Rifles Regiment in India.
World War II Victoria Cross Recipient. A native of Nepal, he was gazetted for the award posthumously on December 26, 1944 for his actions as a rifleman in the 1st Battalion, 9th Gurkha Rifles, of the British Indian Army on 18/19 September 1944 at the Battle of San Marino, Italy during the Allied Italian Campaign of World War II. Born in Ghalechap, Jyamaruk, Nepal, he enlisted in the British Indian Army in November 1942 and was assigned to the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations. During the Battle of San Marino he was killed in combat at the age of 22. His Victoria Cross citation reads: "On 18/19 September 1944 at San Marino, Italy, when a company of the 9th Gurkha Rifles encountered bitter opposition from a German prepared position, Rifleman Sher Bahadur Thapa and his section commander, who was afterwards badly wounded, charged and silenced an enemy machine-gun. The rifleman then went on alone to the exposed part of a ridge where, ignoring a hail of bullets, he silenced more machine-guns, covered a withdrawal and rescued two wounded men before he was killed." His Victoria Cross his held by the 9th Gurkha Rifles Regiment in India.
Bio by: William Bjornstad
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