Dear Ajmal:
To let you know that I was with Maj. Faruque, BB, in sector two camp of our horrifying Mukti Juddhya when we witnessed unbearable human misery, I knew him, as well as the fly and used to play in their RS house ( there was huge tin shade?), as I was from Luxmibazar, Majid Bhai was our 5th Dacca Scout troop leader, I was a scout with your bro. Chanu bhai in the same patrol, I knew Maj. Faruque Bhai as Salek Bhai in St. Greg. he was one year senior to me and class mate of Kazi Kamal, BB, who was in our Melaghar camp, sector two, Maj. Khaled was SC and I think Cpt. Faurue was his deputy or third after Maj. Nurul Islam, Shishu Bhai, after Maj. Khaled was gravely injured, Capt. Salek was the Sector Commander, till the war broke out, Capt. Salek was a valient fighter, and I saw him coming from an operation across the border, one night with his LMG on his shoulder exhausted, wet to the skin, I was a Q. Guard, so halted him for pass word, I asked him how was it, he replied it was a nightmare, and said very sadly that he lost his subedar his own twoice, and 4 others, it tore my heart, as I knew his subedar, I opened my mouth to speak but I couldn't, he went right to his tent. I shall never be able to wash that scene from my mind. Sometime he used to teach us small arms how we can save bullets during firing on a hair-pin trigger of Chinese smg (very hard). He used to keep en eye always lovingly on all Dhaka boys specially Gregorians. Then after liberation I met him in an operation in Mirpur situation, he came down from an army helicopter with Maj. Khaled and saw me and Kazi, talked to us, in a abdar, told him that I have never been in a chopper, he replied lets see and went inside of the make-shift HQ, within few minutes we were joyously flying over Dacca, looked so green then. Few days later he was dead. The stark tragedy shocked me immensely. The med-camp for Dinajpur had to be cancelled, as nothing goes right in our Dhaka now. I hope you have recovered almost fully, even the surgeons need surgery sometime!
Best.
Hubert