As a major general, he led the 54th Infantry Division on the western front in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, for which he was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal.

[2] His elder brother, Sydney Alexander, was also an Indian Army Officer who was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers as a Bombay Sapper.

His sister, Phyllis Mary, served in the Women's Auxiliary Corps (India) and later, Burma Shell.

[4] After clearing the Preliminary and Final Selection Boards held at Jabalpur and Lucknow respectively, he joined the Pre-Cadet Course at Datta College, Lahore in January 1943.

In March 1943, he joined the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun for a six months emergency commission training course.

They were to be launched into operations as part of then Lt Gen Frank Messervy's IV Corps offensive across the Irrawaddy River.

[9] After the Partition of India, Pinto was earmarked for the 5 Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force) but was later assigned to the 2nd battalion of the Assam Regiment.

Later, Pinto's company moved to Shimla to provide ceremonial guard duties for the Governor-General of India, C. Rajagopalachari at the Viceregal Lodge (Rashtrapati Niwas).

Pinto led a Long-range reconnaissance patrol through un-mapped territory to the McMahon Line along the Subansiri River Valley.

In 1967, Pinto was promoted to the rank of brigadier and posted as commander, 66 Mountain Brigade in Binnaguri, West Bengal.

Pinto was posted back to Defence Services Staff College as the chief instructor (Army).

After Pakistan's pre-emptive strikes on 3 December, Pinto's division was to advance between Degh Nadi and Kirar river with a view of capturing line Laisarkalan - Bari - Darman, then Supwal and Barwal, and to be prepared to capture Deoli and Mirzapur.

[18] 54 Infantry Division under Pinto, crossed the border as planned at 2000 hrs on 6 December and captured the border outposts at Chamnakhurd, Danadout, Galar Tanda, Chak Jangu, Dhandhar, Mukhwal and Buru Chakby 0230 hrs 7 December.

It was a strange feeling, the sudden peace and quiet after the unending din and noise of the past fourteen days.

We still had our hands full and soon got busy in dominating and securing every inch of the 388 square kilometers, which we had captured and over which the National Flag as well as the Divisional Flag proudly flew.In what is an Indian Army record, Pinto's 54 Infantry Division won as many as 196 gallantry medals in just 14 days of fierce fighting.