K. Chandana,
PWV ( si, K. චන්දන, died June 2008) was a soldier in the
Sri Lanka Army
ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம்
, image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png
, image_size = 180px
, caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army
, start_date ...
. He was part of a
Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol
A long-range reconnaissance patrol, or LRRP (pronounced "lurp"), is a small, well-armed reconnaissance team that patrols deep in enemy-held territory.Ankony, Robert C., ''Lurps: A Ranger's Diary of Tet, Khe Sanh, A Shau, and Quang Tri,'' revised ...
from the army's elite
Special Forces Regiment
Special or specials may refer to:
Policing
* Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force
* Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer
Literature
* ''Specia ...
, which infiltrated deep behind territory held by the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
(commonly known as LTTE or Tamil Tigers) in June 2008. He was killed in a firefight during this operation and was posthumously awarded the
Parama Weera Vibhushanaya __NOTOC__
The Parama Weera Vibhushanaya (PWV) ( Sinhala: පරම වීර වීභූෂණය ''parama vīra vibhūṣaṇaya''; Tamil: பரம வீர விபுஷனைய) is Sri Lanka's highest military decoration, awarded for a ...
, the country's highest military award for gallantry, for his actions which enabled the rest of his team to withdraw to safety.
Action in June 2008
A
Lance Corporal
Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...
attached to the army's
3rd Special Forces, Chandana was part of a six or eight-man
Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol
A long-range reconnaissance patrol, or LRRP (pronounced "lurp"), is a small, well-armed reconnaissance team that patrols deep in enemy-held territory.Ankony, Robert C., ''Lurps: A Ranger's Diary of Tet, Khe Sanh, A Shau, and Quang Tri,'' revised ...
(LRRP) team that infiltrated into Tamil Tiger-held territory in northern Sri Lanka in June 2008.
The team carried out a successful ambush on the
A9 highway between
Mankulam and
Kilinochchi
Kilinochchi ( ta, கிளிநொச்சி, translit=Kiḷinocci; si, කිලිනොච්චි, translit=Girānika) is the main town of Kilinochchi District, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Kilinochchi is situated at the A9 road so ...
, approximately to deep inside enemy territory at the time, and killed two Tamil Tiger leaders.
Having completed their mission, the team was on their way back to the army lines when they were spotted by Tamil Tiger units while crossing the Mankulam–
Thunukkai
Thunukkai ( ta, துணுக்காய், si, තුනුක්කායි) is a town in the Mullaitivu District, Sri Lanka. It is located about 17 km from Mankulam & 4 km from Mallavi
Mallavi is a town in the Mullaitivu District, Sr ...
road. They came under heavy fire, which injured one of the soldiers in the team. Chandana and the team leader, a
Sergeant
Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...
named Jayakodi, provided covering fire while the rest of the team withdrew, carrying the injured soldier.
However, Chandana was severely injured in the firefight and was left unable to move by himself. He insisted that his team leader withdraw with the rest of the team lest he also would get captured or killed, and kept fighting by himself against the Tamil Tiger units which were converging on their position.
The team later returned to find Chandana, and found that he had been killed by a shot through his chest. However, they soon came under attack again and had to leave his body behind, and managed to reach the government-held area after several days.
Recognition
Chandana was posthumously promoted to the rank of
Corporal
Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...
and recommended for the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, Sri Lanka's highest military award for gallantry. The approval of his medal was announced in
The Sri Lanka Gazette
''The Sri Lanka Gazette'', officially ''The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka'', ( si, ශ්රී ලංකා ප්රජාතාන්ත්රික සමාජවාදී ජනරජයේ ගැස ...
on 16 May 2012.
It was presented to his next-of-kin on 19 May 2012 by President
Mahinda Rajapaksa
Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...
, at the celebrations marking the third anniversary of the end of the war.
The citation for his Parama Weera Vibhushanaya states:
Chandana's name is engraved on a memorial plaque at the Brigade Headquarters of the Special Forces in
Vavuniya
Vavuniya (, romanized: ''Vavuṉiyā'', , romanized: ''Vavuniyāva''). Vavuniya City is the capital of Vavuniya District in the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka and the largest city in the Northern Province. The municip ...
, along with the other recipients of the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya from the unit.
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandana, K.
Recipients of the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya
Special Forces Regiment soldiers
Year of birth missing
2008 deaths
Sri Lankan military personnel killed in action