Sugath Chandrasiri Bandara
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Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Sugath Chandrasiri Bandara, PWV ( si, දිසානායක මුදියන්සේලාගේ සුගත් චන්ද්‍රසිරි බණ්ඩාර; died 3 February 2009) was a
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 ...
soldier. He served with 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 ...
during
Eelam War IV Eelam War IV is the name given to the fourth phase of armed conflict between the Sri Lankan military and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Renewed hostilities began on the 26 July 2006, when Sri Lanka Air Force fighter jet ...
, the final stage of the Sri Lankan Civil War. Chandrasiri Bandara received 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 ...
, Sri Lanka's highest military award for gallantry, for thwarting a suicide attack 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) against the army at the cost of his own life.


Early life and education

Chandrasiri Bandara was born and raised in
Bibile Bibile (also spelled:Bibila) is a town located in Monaragala District, Uva Province of Sri Lanka. Bibile's land is important to Sri Lankan agriculture. It was well known for oranges An orange is a fruit of various citrus species in the fa ...
, a town in the
Monaragala District Monaragala (, ) is a district in Uva Province of Sri Lanka. It is the second largest of the 25 districts in Sri Lanka, with an area of . Main Towns * Monaragala * Bibile * Buttala * Wellawaya * Kataragama * Siyambalanduva * medagama * Thanama ...
. He later married his wife, Mangalika, and moved to
Ratmalana Ratmalana is a suburb in Colombo District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is inside the administration boundary of Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council. Ratmalana is situated 14.6 km south of Colombo city centre. Ratmalana Airport locat ...
. The couple had one daughter.


Career


Action on 3 February 2009

By early February 2009, the Sri Lankan military had confined the Tamil Tigers to a small area around Puthukkudiyiruppu. On 3 February, the Tamil Tigers launched an attack, pushing back the army's Task Force 4 (later 64th Division). Units of the 2nd Special Forces were called in to halt this attack. At the time, Chandrasiri Bandara was serving as a
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 ...
in this unit. The Tamil Tigers sent an explosive laden armour-plated truck against the Special Forces, in an attempted
suicide attack A suicide attack is any violent Strike (attack), attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has suicide, accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have oc ...
. Small arms fire was ineffective against the vehicle, and Chandrasiri Bandara, who was armed with a
RPG-7 The RPG-7 (russian: link=no, РПГ-7, Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomyot) is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket-propelled grenade launcher. ...
rocket launcher, went forward to engage it. Although he fired a rocket at the vehicle, it failed to detonate and he was forced to reload. By this time, the vehicle was too close for Chandrasiri Bandara to fire the RPG safely without getting caught in the blast himself. However, he promptly fired at the truck for the second time. The rocket penetrated through the armour plating and detonated, blowing up the explosive-laden vehicle. The explosion killed Chandrasiri Bandara, but the majority of the group of soldiers targeted by the suicide attack were saved.


Legacy


Recognition

Chandrasiri Bandara was posthumously promoted to the rank of
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 ...
. He was also recommended for 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 ...
for his actions, and on 16 May 2012, the Defence Secretary 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 ...
that Chandrasiri Bandara and 14 others would receive the medal. 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 ...
presented the medal to his next-of-kin on 19 May 2012, the third anniversary of the end of the war. Chandrasiri Bandara was the fourth recipient of the medal from the Special Forces. In the citation for his Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, he is commended for his actions in the face of imminent death, "without any retreating to defend his own life and with the intention of safeguarding the lives of his comrades". His name, along with other recipients from the regiment, is engraved on a special monumental plaque at their Brigade Headquarters 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 ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandrasiri Bandara, Sugath Recipients of the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya Special Forces Regiment soldiers Year of birth missing 2009 deaths Sri Lankan military personnel killed in action