Tiger of Drass: Capt. Anuj Nayyar, 23, Kargil Hero

In May 1999, the Kargil insurgency was still being viewed as a routine affair. No one quite understood the magnitude of the situation. However, it soon emerged that infiltrators had captured high-altitude posts vacated by Indian soldiers during the winter months and thus had a tactical upper hand, while the Indian Army struggled with intelligence.

For the next month or so, Capt. Anuj Nayyar and the men of 17 Jat went on various reconnaissance missions in the boulder-strewn Drass sector where...