 He served in Burma during the Arakan Campaign of World War II, for which he was mentioned in despatches.Fighting in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947-1948, Somnath Sharma was martyred on 3 November 1947 while repulsing Pakistani infiltrators near Srinagar Airport; for his gallantry and sacrifice in this battle of Badgam, he was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra.Sharma was born on 31 January 1923, to a Dogra Brahmin family at Dadh, Kangra, Punjab (present day Himachal Pradesh).