Cecil Chaudhry, the son of Faustian Elmer Chaudhry, the famous Chief Photographer of Pakistan Times, Lahore, was born in 1941. His interest in aircraft and flying brought him to the PAF and he graduated in 1960. He soon established himself professionally and in 1965 was working as Flight Commander (Training) under the renowned Squadron Leader Sarfraz Rafiqui. When war broke out on 6 September, 1965, Cecil busied himself flying numerous Close Support missions to ward off the Indian ground attack against Lahore and Sialkot. He was detailed to fly a dusk strike mission against Halwara under the command of Squadron Leader Rafiqui. There were unavoidable delays in their take-off and Halwara got forewarned because of the successful PAF strike against Pathankot. When Rafiqui, Yunus and Cecil reached their target Halwara, they were intercepted by numerous Hunter aircraft of the Indian Air Force. During the engagement, after shooting down one Indian Hunter, Rafiqui’s guns jammed and he handed over the lead to Cecil. The three fought bravely against heavy odds but Rafiqui and Yunus were shot down while Cecil managed to return safely after shooting down a Hunter. The loss of his mentor Rafiqui and friend Yunus enraged Cecil and he fought the rest of the war aggressively and with determination. For his acts of courage, dedication and professional ability, Cecil received the Sitara-i-Jurat.
Squadron Leader William Desmond Harney, a Navigator of exceptional courage and dedication to duty needs special mention.
Born in Chittagong in 1937, after receiving his early schooling at St. Placids, W.D. Harney joined PAF Academy in 1957 and graduated in 1960.
In 1965, when war broke out, W.D. Harney was posted as Navigator in a Bomber Squadron. During the war, inspite of a hand injury, he voluntarily undertook 14 bombing missions and especially the most hazardous ones to Adampur, Halwara, Jodhpur, Pathankot and Ambala. In all the missions, he excelled in leadership, courage and devotion to duty. His mission-planning and execution of the missions was so meticulous that despite heavy odds, he always reached his targets and contributed significantly to the accuracy of the attacks. For his display of extreme courage and professionalism, W.D. Harney was awarded the Sitara-i-Jurat.