India, Oct. 8 -- Lara Dutta Bhupathi lost her father, Wing Commander L. K. Dutta (Retired), earlier this year in June. On Air Force Day today, the actor shares memories of her late father and the environment she grew up in. The 47-year-old says, "My father was commissioned very young as a flying officer straight out of NDA. He won two Vayu Sena medals for gallantry; one during the 1965 Indo-Pak war and the other during the 1971 war," adding, "When dad retired, he was flying for Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister, and was stationed at Hindon (Uttar Pradesh), where I was born. We grew up knowing that the men in our lives were married to the motherland first, and then to their families; and that the officers' wives' were women of resilience." Lara says her father left behind a void that can never be filled. She recalls, "Growing up, I would sit on my dad's lap and announce to the world that I wanted to be an 'omelette' because I could not pronounce pilot." She adds that growing up in a military family has taught her adaptability. "Every few years you are at a new Air Force station. As a child, there's no better education you can have than experiencing different cultures and languages. I'll always remain an air force brat," she signs off....