Jadhav was 23 years old, and a
Sepoy in the 1st Battalion,
5th Mahratta Light Infantry in the
Indian Army during World War II when the following deed took place during the
Spring 1945 offensive in Italy for which he was awarded the VC. On 9 April 1945 at the
Senio River,
Italy, when a small party were almost wiped out in an assault on the east floodbank of the river, Sepoy Namdeo Jadhav carried two wounded men under heavy fire through deep water, up a steep bank and through a mine belt to safety. Then, determined to avenge his dead comrades, he eliminated three enemy machine-gun posts. Finally, climbing on top of the bank he shouted the Maratha war cry and waved the remaining companies across. He not only saved many lives but enabled the battalion to secure the bridgehead and ultimately to crush all enemy resistance in the area. The citation reads: To commemorate his act of exceptional bravery a bust has been placed at the Aundh military station in
Pune. Adv Mr J.S.Savant, Bombay President, Maratha Recruitment Board, felicitated him for Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. ==Further information==