# 1 Gurkha soldier vs. 30 Taliban **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 3, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-gurkha-soldier-vs-30-taliban/584244 "2011-06-03T21:19:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-gurkha-soldier-vs-30-taliban/584244/1 "2011-06-03T21:19:31Z")
This is a [cool story](http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/02/soldier-cited-for-holding-off-up-to-30-taliban-by-himself/?hpt=hp_t2) on so many levels. - Ya Gurkhas are known around the world as elite fighters and I suppose a Taliban soldier could just be peasant with a gun, but that’s still pretty bad odds–I wouldn’t want to fight 30 gerbils at once, let alone armed men. - Assuming he killed all 30, his actions average out to 27 shots, 1 grenade and 2 kills EVERY MINUTE. - And he didn’t get a scratch. Probably just had to flip a little dust off his collar. - I bet Chuck Norris checks under his bed for this guy. - Britain’s \*second-highest \*award for bravery? Great gawd a’mighty what does a guy have to do to get the top award? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-gurkha-soldier-vs-30-taliban/584244/2 "2011-06-03T21:23:01Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > This is a [cool story](http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/02/soldier-cited-for-holding-off-up-to-30-taliban-by-himself/?hpt=hp_t2) on so many levels. > > - Britain’s \*second-highest \*award for bravery? Great gawd a’mighty what does a guy have to do to get the top award? 60-1, just to make it a fair fight. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-gurkha-soldier-vs-30-taliban/584244/3 "2011-06-03T21:25:59Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > - Britain’s \*second-highest \*award for bravery? Great gawd a’mighty what does a guy have to do to get the top award? My WAG is that he has to die in the process. This guy just needed a few dozen more Taliban to accomplish that, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-gurkha-soldier-vs-30-taliban/584244/4 "2011-06-03T21:29:05Z")
“This is not a repeat from [last February](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=596361)” (Apologies for the Fark meme.) Gurkha’s really do kick all sorts of ass, don’t they? ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2011, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-gurkha-soldier-vs-30-taliban/584244/5 "2011-06-04T15:06:59Z")
> [@](#): > > - Britain’s second-highest award for bravery? Great gawd a’mighty what does a guy have to do to get the top award? Be born in Britain maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2011, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-gurkha-soldier-vs-30-taliban/584244/6 "2011-06-04T15:09:47Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > - Britain’s \*second-highest \*award for bravery? Great gawd a’mighty what does a guy have to do to get the top award? Lachhiman Gurung earned the Victoria Cross for holding off 200 Japanese for 4 hours, killing 31, with his right arm blown off. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2011, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-gurkha-soldier-vs-30-taliban/584244/7 "2011-06-04T15:15:22Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Be born in Britain maybe? Absolutely not. I visited the Gurkha Museum in Nepal in 2009, and read, through my tears, every single one of the stories of valor of the Gurkhas who have won the [Victoria Cross](http://www.thekhukurihouse.com/Content/VCHolders.php). ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2011, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-gurkha-soldier-vs-30-taliban/584244/8 "2011-06-04T15:27:39Z")
Not only does he get a cool medal, he has got an awesome name. Congratulations to Dip Pun. for a job very well done. ---
**Author:** ![Damfino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Damfino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damfino)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2011, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-gurkha-soldier-vs-30-taliban/584244/9 "2011-06-04T20:22:18Z")
The pronunciation might not be as you imagine. It most probably is “deep” and “poon” as in “put”. Thanks for the link, **jjimm**.Informative and moving. ---
**Author:** ![Silophant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Silophant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silophant)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2011, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-gurkha-soldier-vs-30-taliban/584244/10 "2011-06-04T22:52:56Z")
I refuse to think of such a badass man as “Deep Poon.” ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2011, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-gurkha-soldier-vs-30-taliban/584244/11 "2011-06-04T23:20:04Z")
See, that is just it. He is such a badass that he can get away with having a name like Deep Poon. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2011, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-gurkha-soldier-vs-30-taliban/584244/12 "2011-06-04T23:51:23Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > My WAG is that he has to die in the process. This guy just needed a few dozen more Taliban to accomplish that, I think. No, while the VC has been awarded posthumously on many occasions, it has also been awarded many times to live recipients, though I don’t have the stats; when inaugurated, it was never a posthumous decoration. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-gurkha-soldier-vs-30-taliban/584244/13 "2011-06-04T23:56:18Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > See, that is just it. He is such a badass that he can get away with having a name like Deep Poon. I am so tempted to change my username… ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-gurkha-soldier-vs-30-taliban/584244/14 "2011-06-05T00:33:46Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > - Britain’s \*second-highest \*award for bravery? Great gawd a’mighty what does a guy have to do to get the top award? Gurkhas have to meet a higher standard to win the VC. Otherwise, they’d run out. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-gurkha-soldier-vs-30-taliban/584244/15 "2011-06-05T00:42:19Z")
One prospect for the armchair generals: with the Libyan Revolt dragging on, and the current coalition getting more committed, we’ll perhaps see how the Gurkhas, USMC and the French Foreign Legion all do in the same arena. (the Gurkhas may be a favorite, but are not a slam dunk. At the Battle of Tanga they were defeated when evenly matched against German-led African Askaris). ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-gurkha-soldier-vs-30-taliban/584244/16 "2011-06-05T00:43:45Z")
That picture is also proof that the more ridiculous the hat, the more badass the soldier. Red pompom & chinstrap = unstoppable killing machine. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-gurkha-soldier-vs-30-taliban/584244/17 "2011-06-05T00:47:51Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Lachhiman Gurung earned the Victoria Cross for holding off 200 Japanese for 4 hours, killing 31, with his right arm blown off. “It’s just a flesh wound!” ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-gurkha-soldier-vs-30-taliban/584244/18 "2011-06-05T05:04:41Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Be born in Britain maybe? Plenty of Colonials have won the Vistoria Cross. It also depends on the medal regime of the country. Australians are no longer awarded the British version of the Victoria cross as there is an Australian medal regime now in place. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-gurkha-soldier-vs-30-taliban/584244/19 "2011-06-05T05:06:05Z")
And of course, I should add that at least one American had been awarded the Victoria Cross. Or possible American. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-gurkha-soldier-vs-30-taliban/584244/20 "2011-06-05T06:14:12Z")
I have to say, it seems extremely British to actually name the second-most distinguished award the “Conspicuous Gallantry Cross.” Presumably the Victoria Cross is only for those soldiers who are less conspicuous but equally gallant. I like that he even hit an enemy with his gun tripod. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1-gurkha-soldier-vs-30-taliban/584244.md?page=2)