KOZHIKODE: 'My son is not dead. A soldier never dies. He will be reborn through thousands of children.." As one more Kargil Vijay Diwas arrives, captain PV Vikram's father Lt Col PKPV Panicker recollects the memories about his son. On the other day, the family received a greeting card from a 10-year-old girl from Bengaluru which read, 'As the people of this country, we are indebted to your sacrifice.' "See this love, my son continues to live through this love," Panicker said.

Captain Vikram attained martyrdom on June 2, 1999, in Kargil. Since then, the family waited for the nation's victory and the wait finally came to an end on July 26, 1999. On this Kargil Vijay Diwas, India pays homage to all the 527 soldiers who had sacrificed their lives for the country.

Vikram too served with the 141 Field Regiment that his father had once served. However, his service lasted for only three years. Vikram made the last call to his family six days before his death. "Papa, I'm leaving. The situation is pretty bad and I don't think that I'll be able to talk anymore," these were his last words.

On June 2, it was informed that Vikram had suffered an injury."However, I said that I was also a soldier as I asked them to reveal what actually happened to my son. That was when I was informed that Vikram was killed in a shell attack. His body was brought to Kozhikode on June 5. A soldier should not cry. So, I gave my son a final salute by holding back my tears,: Lt Col Panicker added.

Vikram, who was born in Kozhikode, had a close relationship with the city. The ground in West Hill was later named 'Vikram Maidaan'.