On June 30, Air Commodore (retd.) Nazir Latif, the kind and gracious man who had served his country proudly in both wars (1965-1971) as an ace bomber (earning a Sitara-i-Jurat along the way) passed away in the Pakistan Air Force Hospital in Islamabad. He had been rushed to the hospital after suffering a heart attack and collapsing outside his room in the PAF Officers Mess, where he had been living for the past few months. He was well into his 80s and months earlier had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. But the heart attack was sudden and unforeseen. A day later he was buried with full military honours by the Pakistan Air Force.

Bill Latif (as his friends called him) had been living alone in Islamabad for several years now. He had originally planned to retire in Rawalpindi, his hometown. Bill Latif was born in a highly educated Christian family in 1927 and grew up in Rawalpindi, where his father was a well-known professor of psychology. He had always had a craze to be a pilot and joined the air force soon after partition. “Those were wonderful days of flying and a carefree life”, he would recall.

The Pakistan Air Force was, at the time, one of the best in the world and Bill Latif was an outstanding pilot. He eventually ended up commanding an entire bomber squad and fought with valour in both the wars with India. He was chased out of the air force in 1972 by the incumbent chief, and moved to Jordan, where he was to spend 18 years of his life. Up until 2004, he was the captain of an airline based in Bahrain. His wife had passed away in Jordan many years earlier and, upon retiring, he decided to return to Pakistan in 2007. Bill Latif was not prepared for the cruel twist of fate in store for him just short of his 80th birthday. He was out for a walk near the rest house where he was staying in Islamabad when he was struck by a stray bullet that hit him in the face. He somehow made it back to the rest house and was rushed to the CMH.

Amazingly, no damage was done to his brain, although he lost one eye. But not once did he complain; patience and stoicism were ingrained into his gentle nature. “What else could I do?” he said to me later, smiling quietly, his hair combed carefully. A stroke had slowed his speech slightly and sometimes he forgot things, but he still had plenty of charm. When I asked him whether he ever tried to find out who did this to him, he replied: “One has to accept these things… it would have been a wild goose chase anyhow”.

After the operation at CMH, Bill Latif was moved to the Pakistan Air Force hospital to recuperate. He really had no one to look after him except his air force buddies and they asked the then air force chief for a permanent room for him in the Officers Mess. It was a bit of a struggle for them but they persisted, and finally Bill Latif moved into a room in the PAF Officers Mess in Islamabad where he lived out his final days. When he was diagnosed with prostate cancer a few months ago, he took the blow with his characteristic grace, insisting that no one be told since he did not want to be a burden on anyone. Bill Latif’s courage — both in the cockpit and on the ground — was exemplary. And not only was he a fine officer, but a gentleman too.

“He’s been a damn good human being —very humble and extremely generous. He gave everything away to friends and family. He was always admired and well respected” say his friends. This graceful war hero has now gone, gently into the night. May he rest in peace.