India, May 21 -- Assam Rifles director general Lt Gen Vikas Lakhera on Tuesday presented a token of appreciation to its oldest gallantry award winner Havildar Mering Ao of Nagaland.

At 105 years old, Ao is a living bridge to some of the most defining chapters of India's military history. Born on November 15, 1920, in Sungratsu village, he served in the 3rd Battalion of the Assam Rifles, and fought valiantly during World War II, participating in the historic battles of Kohima and Burma.

But it was in the tumultuous years after Independence, during a counter-insurgency operation in Nagaland in 1960, that he displayed a moment of exceptional courage - eliminating one insurgent and injuring two others.

For this act of sheer bravery, he was...