Lord Mountbatten, the Supreme Commander of the Allied  Forces in the far east, described Ganju Lama's Victoria Cross as the most richly deserved gallantry award in the entire history of war in the far east. This was because in a week, Ganju Lama had bagged both the Military Medal and the Victoria Cross by destroying five tanks in two separate encounters. For his heroic actions of destroying enemy tanks, he was also know as the 'Tanks Killer' in military history of WWII. The spring of 1944, saw General Sir WIllam Slim's offensive attack into northern Burma, countered by the move of the three divisions of  General Mutagachi's 15th Japanese Army, into the Impal Plain. Mutagachi aimed to block Slim's lines of supply through the mountain passes from Assam, but first had to take Kohima and Impal. This was in the last leg of the second World War.

   On the morning of 12th June 1944, the Japanese put down an intense artillery barrage on the brigade's positions, north of the village of Ningthoukong. As the barrage lifted, Japanese  infantry supported by tanks attacked, and broke through the brigade's perimeter from where the tanks threatened to overrun the defender's positions.

    B and D Companies of the 1st /7th Gurkhas were ordered to launch an immediate counter-attack to restore the perimeter. Initially good progress was made, but enemy tanks firing their main armament, caused the attack to falter. Just four weeks after his earlier act of heroism (which resulted in the award of the Military Medal), Ganju Lama crawled forward with his projector infantry anti-tank gun (PIAT), and engaged the enemy armour from the flank. Although wounded in his left wrist, right hand, and a leg, he held his fire until only 30 yards from a leading tank. He destroyed it with his first missile and then destroyed the nest supporting Japanese tanks, with his second shot. A third tank was destroyed by an anti-tank gun supporting the counter-attack. As the enemy crews scrambled out of their burning vehicles, Ganju attacked them with hand grenades - removing the pins with his teeth because of his broken hand. Not until he had killed or wounded the last enemy tank crew member, could he be persuaded to return to the Regimental Aids Post to have his wounds dressed.

     He had to stay in the hospital for 22 months, and when he received his Victoria Cross from Lord Wavell, the viceroy of India, it was from a wheelchair at the Red Ford, in Delhi, in the autumn of 1994. However, he managed to get up when the medal was pinned on him.

    The prosaic language of the citation for the awards of his Victoria Cross records that: "Throughout this action Rifleman Ganju Lama, although seriously wounded, showed a complete disregard for his personal safety. Outstanding devotion to duty and a determination to destroy the enemy, that was an example and an inspiration to all ranks. It was solely due to his prompt action and brave conduct that a most critical situation was averted, all positions regained and heavy casualties inflicted on the enemy.'

        After trekking to Darjeeling, since there were no roads at that time he was admitted into the Gurkhas at the age of 18 at the recruitment centre in Ghoom nearby. It is presumed that in wartime the regiment let slip its usually stringent ethnic criterion for enlistment. Originally, Gyamtso Shangderpa Ganju Lama's name got changed when the British Officer at the recruiting  wrote down Ganju as his first name. The training hardly over Ganju Lama's regiment was sent to Burma front to face the advancing enemy.