Rear Admiral Santosh Kumar Gupta, MVC, NM, was born on 21 December 1936 in Dehradun. He was commissioned in 1958 and joined the fighter stream of the Indian Navy prior to the commissioning of the squadron INAS 300, the White Tigers. He commanded the White Tigers in the 1971 war while embarked on INS Vikrant. For his display of leadership and bravery, Lt Cdr Gupta was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra. During his service, he commanded four ships, two air squadrons and the Naval Academy. After retirement as ACNS (Air) in December 1990, he headed Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai till 1998. He has now settled in Bengaluru with his family.
Commodore Gurnam Singh was born in Amritsar, Punjab, on 5 November 1941. At the time, his father was serving in the British Indian Army and was posted at the Eastern Front. He joined the Indian Navy in 1958 and was commissioned as an officer in 1967. He is a qualified maritime and aircraft engineer. He was awarded the Nao Sena Medal (Gallantry) for his contribution to the 1971 war. After retiring from service in 1995, he has pursued his interest in languages and has written 10 books in Punjabi.
