Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Chulabhaya Lakshman 'Lucky' Wijayaratne RWP, RSP,

M.Sc A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

, LI was a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

n army officer, who was one of the most distinguished Generals 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 ...

. 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 Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

at the time of his death and played a pivotal role in the government’s counter terrorism offensive in the district.Lucky aspired for 'Carpet of Peace'
/ref> Major General Wijayaratne was the senior most Sri Lankan military officer to die from a LTTE attack up to that time.War on terror revisited
/ref>

Early life and career

Lucky Wijayaratne was born on 30 October 1944 to a well respected family in

Galle Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Souther ...

and his father was a reputed ayurvedic physician in the area. He was educated at

Mahinda College Mahinda College is a Buddhist boys' school in Galle, Sri Lanka. The school was established on 1 March 1892 by the Buddhist Theosophical Society led by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott. As of May 2022 it is a national school providing primary and secon ...

, Galle, where he was a member of the school Cadet Corps. After finishing the school education he opted for the military service on 26 March 1964, after joining the Sri Lanka Army as a Cadet Officer in the

Sri Lanka Military Academy The Sri Lanka Military Academy () (SLMA or SLMA Diyatalawa), commonly known simply as Diyatalawa, is the Sri Lanka Army's training centre where officer cadets are trained for getting commission. It is located in the garrison town of Diyatalawa ...

. After completing the initial training successfully he was proceeded to the

Pakistan Military Academy Pakistan Military Academy ( ur, ), also referred to by its acronym PMA. PMA is an officers training school located near Kakul village in the city and district of Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa established in 1947. It is the sole service academy ...

for advanced training. He followed many military courses, both in Sri Lanka and overseas and his high performance levels at those military training centres earned him a scholarship for postgraduate studies (MSc.) in Strategic Warfare at

Aberdeen University , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

in Scotland. During his military career, he began to perform well since the early days he joined as a commissioned officer in the

Sri Lanka Light Infantry The Sri Lanka Light Infantry (SLLI) is the oldest regiment in the Sri Lanka Army and the oldest infantry regiment in the army. It is made up of ten regular battalions and five volunteer battalions, and is headquartered at the Panagoda Cantonment, ...

. After he was promoted to the rank of

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

on 20 July 1985, he had the opportunity to serve as the Commandant of Infantry Training School at Minneriya, Staff Officer-I at Joint Operations Headquarters, Coordinating Officer for Uva, Matara and Trincomalee, Commanding Officer, 1 SLLI, etc. Lucky Wijayaratne was an officer who believed in strict discipline, commitment and dedication to achieve success in all assignments he was entrusted. He was well endowed with a keen foresight which helped him to pre-empt many possible impending enemy attacks with the operations he carefully planned and carried out in the battlefield, specially against the

LTTE The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...

Death

The Tamil Tigers always felt the heat of his strong presence in the east and treated him as threat to their activities in the Eastern province. Although they could not take his life several times as planned, one of the deadly landmine blasts of the LTTE finished the life of the valiant battle-hardened army officer Lakshman Wijayaratne on 18 December 1990, while he was serving as the Area Commander of the 22 Brigade in Trincomalee. Major General Lakshman Wijayaratne, Police Superintendent Richard Wijesekara and six army soldiers were killed, when the vehicle they traveled was hit by a LTTE land mine at Morayaya along Trincomalee-Anuradhapura road.Dark memories on 18 December
/ref> They were returning from a refugee camp near Horowupatana in Tricomalee, where they had met with refugees to ask them to return to their villages after LTTE had been driven out of the area.

Awards

Major General Lakshman Wijayaratne was awarded with several medals and decorations by the government of Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka Army, including

Rana Wickrama Padakkama The Rana Wickrama Padakkama (RWP, Combat Gallantry Medal) ( Sinhala: රණ වික්‍රම පදක්කම) is awarded to Sri Lankan military service personnel serving in both the regular- and volunteer forces as a reward for: Bars ...

(RWP),

Rana Sura Padakkama Rana Sura Padakkama (RSP, Combat Excellence Medal) ( Sinhala: රණ ශූර පදක්කම ''rana śūra padakkama'') is awarded to servicepersons of all ranks of the regular and volunteer forces of the Military of Sri Lanka for individual ...

(RSP),

Vadamarachchi Operation Medal The Vadamarachchi Operation Medal ( Sinhala: වඩමාරච්චි මෙහෙයුම් පදක්කම ''vadamārachchi meheyum padakkama'') was a campaign medal presented to all ranks of the regular and volunteer forces of the Mili ...

, Purna Bhumi Medal and President’s Medal to commemorate his valuable dedication and service to the country.Major General Wijayaratne’s Death Anniversary Falls Today

References

External links

LuckyWijayaratne.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wijayaratne, Lucky 1944 births 1990 deaths Sri Lankan major generals Alumni of Mahinda College Alumni of the University of Aberdeen People from Galle Sri Lankan military personnel killed in action Assassinated military personnel Assassinated Sri Lankan people People killed during the Sri Lankan Civil War Landmine victims Sinhalese military personnel

Early life and career

Death

Awards

See also

References

External links