Lieutenant Colonel Ardeshir Burzorji Tarapore was born on August 18, 1923 in Mumbai. He was popularly known as “Adi”. Ardeshir was transferred to the 1st Hyderabad Imperial Service Lancers, which fought The Poona Horse, Ardeshir’s later unit, in Operation Polo. He saw active service in West Asia during World War II. Hyderabad later merged with the Union of India, and its forces eventually amalgamated with the Indian Army.
Ardeshir was shifted to The Poona Horse with commission date of 1st April 1951. He rose to become Commanding Officer in the Indo-Pak War of 1965. While leading his regiment in securing a major objective in Pakistan, Lieutenant Colonel Tarapore was mortally wounded. Though his own tank was hit several times, he maintained his pivots at both these places, supporting the infantry attacking Chawinda. Inspired by his leadership, the regiment attacked the enemy armor and destroyed approximately 60 Pakistani Army tanks, suffering only 9 tank casualties.
However, Tarapore was martyred when his tank was hit and was enveloped in flames. He was awarded Param Vir Chakra for his action in the battle.