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NY Army Guard engineers receive lesson in Indian military history

The event was part of a series of cultural meals organized during one drill weekend each quarter.

Dr. Gurinderpal Singh Josan, founder and chairman of Saragarhi Foundation Inc., delivers a lecture on the historic Battle of Saragarhi to Soldiers of the New York Army National Guard’s 1156th Engineer Company on Camp Smith Training Site, New York, Oct. 14, 2023. / (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Joseph Liggio) (Photo Credit: Spc. Joseph Liggio)

Soldiers from the 1156th Engineer Company of the New York Army National Guard learned about Indian military history and tried some authentic Indian cuisine during drill training at Camp Smith Training Site near Peekskill earlier this month.

This event was part of a series of cultural meals organized during one drill weekend each quarter. The aim of these gatherings, as explained by 1st Sgt. Theodore Gentile, the company's first sergeant, is to familiarize the members of the 1156th Engineer Company, which is part of the 204th Engineer Battalion, with the diverse cultural backgrounds of its members,  a statement released by the United States Army stated.

The idea for the cultural meal and history lesson came from Sgt. Talwinder Singh, a Sikh plumber in the company and a native of Queens. His inspiration for this presentation came from a lecture given by Dr. Gunderphal Sign Josan, the founder of the Saragarhi Foundation. This foundation is dedicated to commemorating the historic battle that took place in 1897 on the frontier between Afghanistan and the British Empire.

“This group, the Saragarhi Foundation, was willing to come here and give us a whole brief on the battle, and then tie it in with the food, so it’s an awesome experience to have the history of their culture and their military tie in with ours,” said Gentile in a release published by the US Army.

Sgt. Talwinder Singh expressed his happiness at having the opportunity to share some of his cultural history and food with the other Soldiers of the 1156th. “I’m starting here, and hopefully we will go forward to other battalions, and other companies, and slowly teach everybody about us,” Singh maintained.

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