Saliya Upul Aladeniya
Captain Samarakoon Wasala Mudiyanselage Saliya Upul Aladeniya, PWV, SLRS (In Sinhalese: කපිතාන් සාලිය උපුල් අලදෙනිය; 1 March 1963 – 11 June 1990) was a 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.[1][2]
Saliya Upul Aladeniya † PWV | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | Samarakoon Wasala Mudiyanselage Saliya Upul Aladeniya |
| Born | 1 March 1963 Lewella, Kandy |
| Died | 11 June 1990 (aged 27) Kokavil, Sri Lanka |
| Allegiance |  Sri Lanka |
| Service/ |  Sri Lanka Army |
| Years of service | 1989–1990 |
| Rank |  Captain (Posthumously) |
| Unit | Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment |
| Commands held | Officer-in-command, Kokavil Army Camp |
| Battles/wars | Insurrection 1987–89, Sri Lankan civil war |
| Awards |  Parama Weera Vibhushanaya |
Early life
Born in Kandy, his father was a planter in the State Plantations Corporation and a captain in the Ceylon Volunteer Force. He had two siblings. Educated at Trinity College Kandy, he worked in a small estate owned by his family.[3]
Military service
He joined the Sri Lanka Army in 1989 as a volunteer officer. Following a short commissioning course at the Sri Lanka Military Academy, he was commissioned as second lieutenant in the 2nd (V) Battalion, Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment. He served with the battalion in Nuwara Eliya during the later stages of the 1987–1989 JVP insurrection. He was later transferred to the 3rd (V) Battalion, Sinha Regiment and was attached to the A company.[3]
Battle of Kokavil
On 18 May 1990, the A Company with three officers was deployed the Mankulam. Two officers and 58 men from A Company was dispatched to an isolated army outpost at Kokuvla (Kokavil) that was established for guarding the television relay station. Aladeniya as a Second Lieutenant was part of that detachment. On June 5, the LTTE Mankulam and was repulsed killing 43 militants.[3]
On the 11 June 1990, the Sri Lankan government ordered over 600 police officers to surrender to the LTTE after their police stations were surrounded, who were then massacred.[4] The next day Mankulam and Kokavil were surrounded by the LTTE. On June 16, there was a ceasefire, the Captain in charge of the camp and fifteen others went on leave. Leaving Lieutenant Aladeniya in charge.[3]
On 27 June, 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. In spite of many requests, reinforcements sent from Wanni headquarters never reached Kokavil, having been diverted elsewhere. On July 11, 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. Since his body was not recovered he wasn listed as missing in action.[5]
Aladeniya was posthumously promoted to rank of captain and awarded the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya medal on June 21, 1994. In offensive operations in 2009, the Sri Lanka Army recaptured Kokavil. In 2011, the transmition tower was rebuilt and a monument to Aladeniya and his men was built.[6]
Family
At the time of his death Aladeniya was married.[3]
See also
- Awards and decorations of the military of Sri Lanka
References
- The Sunday Times article: "Don't worry sir, I will fight till I die"
- LankaLibrary Forum; Eelam War II - "Operation Balavegaya"
- Don't worry sir, I will fight till I die
- "The Sunday Times Plus Section". Sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- 3rd (Volunteer) Battalion of the Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment
- Saved through blood, sweat and tears:
- SPUR
- Army, Sri Lanka. (1st Edition – October 1999). "50 YEARS ON" – 1949-1999, Sri Lanka Army. ISBN 955-8089-02-8