It is not unusual for the Services to take in-house decisions to name many buildings and institutes located in various cantonments and bases around the country after gallantry award winners. But last week the government took the unprecedented decision of naming a functional air base after Arjan Singh, the nonagenarian Marshal of the Indian Air Force (IAF), who till now is the Air Force’s most distinguished and seniormost officer. Following an announcement made on the eve of his 97th birthday last Thursday, the Panagarh air base located in Durgapur district of West Bengal stands renamed Air Force Station Arjan Singh.The decision is to be welcomed entirely, a fitting recognition of Arjan Singh’s contribution and distinguished career. The Padma Vibhushan recipient’s most stellar contribution is his display of leadership as a 46-year-old Air Chief during the September 1965 Indo-Pak War in which the IAF, equipped with vintage Vampires and Gnats, fought against Pakistan, then equipped with superior US supplied fighter jets. Notwithstanding this limitation and other odds against it, the IAF performed fairly well and assisted in checking the advance of the Pakistani Army. In January 1966, Arjan Singh became India’s first Air Chief Marshal in recognition of the IAF’s contribution to the war under his leadership. Earlier, as a young 23-year-old Squadron Leader, Arjan Singh was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by the British for successfully leading his fighter squadron against the advancing Japanese forces in the Imphal Valley during World War-II.  In January 2002, 33 years after he had retired, Arjan Singh was belatedly conferred the five star rank of Marshal of the Indian Air Force, equivalent to Field Marshal in the Army, making him the only IAF officer to be accorded this honour. The government’s decision is a step in the right direction. Every society needs to find ways of honouring its heroes. It is important to build narratives about the legends of our heroes. In this age of growing cynicism, the soldiers need to be particularly reassured that the society and its governing organs do appreciate and honour those who are willing to make sacrifices in defence of the national borders.