Saliya Upul Aladeniya
Encyclopedia
Captain Saliya Upul Aladeniya PWVParama Weera Vibhushanaya
Parama Weera Vibhushanaya , is the highest Sri Lankan military decoration equivalent to the British Victoria Cross , or the United States Medal of Honor, that's awarded as a reward for all ranks of the tri services individual acts of gallantry...
, WWV
Weera Wickrama Vibhushanaya
Weera Wickrama Vibhushanaya Medal and Bar are the third highest Sri Lankan military decoration that is presented to officers and other ranks as a reward for individual acts of gallantry and conspicuous bravery which is of a military nature of a high order in the face of the enemy, carried out...
, SLRS
Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment
The Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment is the first rifle regiment in the Sri Lanka Army and the second oldest infantry regiment in the army. It is made up of seven regular battalions, five volunteer battalions and a headquarter battalion...
(In Sinhalese: ) (1964 - June 11, 1990) was the second recipient of the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya
Parama Weera Vibhushanaya
Parama Weera Vibhushanaya , is the highest Sri Lankan military decoration equivalent to the British Victoria Cross , or the United States Medal of Honor, that's awarded as a reward for all ranks of the tri services individual acts of gallantry...
, highest war time award for valour of the Sri Lanka Military. He was a Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
n army officer who refused to abandon the injured of his platoon
Platoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the...
and, fought until the Kokavil
Kokavil
Kokavil is a village in Mullaitivu District, Sri Lanka, also called Kokkavil. It is situated along A-9 road.- Massacre on Yal Devi:Troops were located parallel to A-9 Highway and old Murikandi-Kokavil Railway Station where LTTE massacre on "Yal Devi" passenger train was occurred...
army camp was overrun by LTTE.
Educated at Trinity College Kandy, he joined the Sri Lanka Army in 1989. After basic training he was commissioned as Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
in to the Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment
Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment
The Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment is the first rifle regiment in the Sri Lanka Army and the second oldest infantry regiment in the army. It is made up of seven regular battalions, five volunteer battalions and a headquarter battalion...
.
Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
(at that time) Aladeniya was in command of an army outpost with a handful of men at Kokuvla (Kokavil) that was established for guarding the television relay station. The camp was surrounded for several days by LTTE cadres who outnumbered them five to one. The food and water were running out in the camp and so was the ammunition
Ammunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
. In spite of many requests, reinforcements sent from Lt. Aladeniya's regimental headquarters in Nuwara Eliya
Nuwara Eliya
Nuwara Eliya , meaning "city on the plain " or "city of light", is a town in the central highlands of Sri Lanka with a picturesque landscape and temperate climate. It is located at an altitude of 1,868 m and is considered to be the most important location for Tea production in Sri Lanka...
never reached Kokavil, having been diverted elsewhere. Orders to withdraw from the camp came at the eleventh hour but then it was too late and Aladeniya had wounded men whom he did not want to leave behind. Pledging that he would rather die alongside them than leave them, Lt. Aladeniya fought on till an adjacent fuel dump exploded, killing the majority of the defenders in the camp.
Lt. Aladeniya lost his life and was posthumously promoted to rank of Captain and honoured with a Parama Weera Vibhushanaya
Parama Weera Vibhushanaya
Parama Weera Vibhushanaya , is the highest Sri Lankan military decoration equivalent to the British Victoria Cross , or the United States Medal of Honor, that's awarded as a reward for all ranks of the tri services individual acts of gallantry...
medal on June 21, 1994.