13 Sri Lankan military personnel killed in action

Captain Samarakoon Wasala Mudiyanselage Saliya Upul Aladeniya, PWV, SLRS was Sri Lankan soldier and the second recipient of the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, highest war time award for valor of Sri Lanka. He was commanding the small army detachment at Kokavil, when it was surrounded he refused to abandon the injured and fought until they were overrun by LTTE.

Lieutenant General Nalin K. B. Angammana was a senior Sri Lanka Army officer, who was the former General Officer Commanding, 3 Division.

Admiral Wannakuwatta Waduge Erwin Clancy Fernando VSV, USP, MSc, ndc, psc, MNI, SLN was the Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy from 1 November 1991 to 16 November 1992. He was assassinated by the LTTE in 1992, as the most senior officer in the Sri Lankan military to be killed in the line of duty.

K. A. Gamage, was a Major in the Sri Lanka Army who posthumously received the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, Sri Lanka's highest military award for gallantry. At the time of his death, he was serving in the army's elite Special Forces Regiment. Before joining the Special Forces, Gamage had also served in the Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment.

Warrant Officer Class 2 H.B. Pasan Gunasekera PWV, WWV, RSP, GR was a non-commissioned officer in the Sri Lanka Army who was posthumously promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer Class 2 from Staff Sergeant, and awarded the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya (PWV) medal, the Sri Lanka's highest military decoration for the honour, for his heroic deeds in Jaffna, Sri Lanka during Operation Riviresa.

G. S. Jayanath PWV, CR, was a Major in the Sri Lanka Army and a member of the army's elite Commando Regiment. He posthumously received the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, the country's highest military award for gallantry, for his actions during Operation Jayasikurui in the Sri Lankan Civil War. Jayanath is the only Commando to receive this decoration.

Lieutenant Colonel J.A.L Jayasinghe PWV, WWV, RWP, RSP, SF was an officer of the Special Forces Regiment of the Sri Lanka Army who was twice decorated with the Weera Wickrama Vibhushanaya (WWV) the second highest award for combat bravery in the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. He was killed in November 2008, while leading an eight-man Special Forces team on a covert operation 30 km behind enemy lines into territory held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Lieutenant General Denzil Lakshman Kobbekaduwa, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, rcds, psc, SLAC was a Sri Lankan General. He led some of the most successful military operations in the early part of the Sri Lankan Civil War, such as Vadamarachchi Operation and Operation Balavegaya. He was mortally wounded and his commanders and staff killed when the Land Rover they were travelling in hit a land mine in the island of Kayts while making preparations for Operation Final Countdown the proposed invasion of the Jaffna Peninsula.

Corporal Gamini Kularatne PWV, SLSR (S/34553) was a Sri Lankan soldier. He was the first recipient of the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, the highest award for gallantry awarded by the Sri Lanka Army for his actions during the Elephant Pass Siege, in which he was killed.

Lance Corporal W.I.M Seneviratne PWV, SLLI was a Sri Lankan soldier. After joining the Sri Lanka Army in 1987, Seneviratne served during the Sri Lankan Civil War. On July 4, 1996, while providing security to visiting Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva in the northern city of Jaffna, Seneviratne sacrificed his life to thwart a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber from assassinating Minister de Silva. He was posthumously awarded the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, the highest military decoration awarded for gallantry in Sri Lanka.

K. G. Shantha was a senior non-commissioned officer in the Sri Lanka Navy. He was killed in a sea battle against the Sea Tigers, the naval wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, in the seas of northern Sri Lanka. He posthumously received the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, the country's highest award for gallantry, and is the second recipient of the medal from the navy.

Major General Chulabhaya Lakshman 'Lucky' Wijayaratne RWP, RSP, M.Sc, LI was a Sri Lankan army officer, who was one of the most distinguished Generals in the Sri Lanka army. Major General Wijayaratne died on 18 December 1990 at the 10th milepost along Trincomalee-Anuradhapura road due to a landmine explosion. He was the commander of 22 brigade based in Trincomalee at the time of his death and played a pivotal role in the government’s counter terrorism offensive in the district. Major General Wijayaratne was the senior most Sri Lankan military officer to die from a terrorist attack up to that time.

Major General Vanigamuni Indrajith Vijeyakumar Mendis Wimalaratne, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, psc, GR was a Sri Lankan general. One of the most distinguished field commanders in Sri Lanka, Wimalaratne raised the Gajaba Regiment, he commanded the 1st Brigade during the Vadamarachchi Operation, he commanded the Amphibious Task Force Commander during Operation Balavegaya and was the Commander Security Forces – Jaffna at the time of his death in a land mine explosion at Point Arali in the Kayts Island while making preparations to re-capture Jaffna.