"It is amazing to see the spontaneity of public response in receiving the bodies of soldiers even in the states where secessionist forces have been trying to mobilise support in their favour", Maj. Gen Dua said.

The deaths of Lt. Neikezhakud Kengrusie (Nagaland), Captain Jintu Gogoi (Assam), Captain K. C. Nongrum (Meghalaya) and others from this region were not only meant for the defence of the country, but ‘their sacrifices have also discernibly brought people together’, he said.

Maj. Gen. Dua, who held the responsibility of being in constant touch with the bereaved parents of Capt. Nongrim and Capt. Gogoi and kept them informed of the stupendous efforts made by the Army to retrieve the bodies from the war front, said, "No greater calamity could have come to the families than the news of death of their growing sons, yet the amount of calm and patience shown by the parents concerned was extraordinary."

Recalling the tough moment of breaking the news of Capt. Nongrum;s death to his father K. Peter, he said Mr. Peter very soon composed himself and inquired about his sons colleagues from the same unit.

Capt Gogoi’s father Thagiram Gogoi who had to wait for his son’s body for more than 11 days, showed no signs of impatience, the Major General said adding, "Every time I talked to him, he said he understood the problem faced by the Army in bringing the body back home."

Referring to the parents, he said they were great patriots. "They realised that the armed forces were not sparing any effort to recover the bodies", he said, adding "and in a land of patriots of such stature, insurgency can never survive."

The martyrdom of Capt. Nongrum has inspired the youths in the State to join armed forces, he said. The sacrifices made by the soldiers would certainly result in the emergence of a violence-free North-Eastern region, he said.