India, Oct. 24 -- Wing Commander Jag Mohan (Jaggi) Nath of the Indian Air Force ( IAF ) is the first of six Indian officers to have twice been awarded the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC), India's second highest war-time military decoration. For 11 years, the 90-year-old Wing Commander had the privilege to fly the famous Canberras, out of which, for eight years, he worked for the top-secret 106 Squadron. He received his first MVC for his role in reconnaissance missions over the Aksai Chin and Tibet between 1960 and 1962.

Even during the Sino-Indian War (October-November 1962), he regularly flew over Tibet. The MVC citation says: "[He] fulfilled a number of hazardous operations involving flying over difficult mountain terrain, both by day and night,...