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President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces refreshed the memories of invaluable dedication, commitment and sacrifice, made by 19,158 War Heroes of the Armed Forces during
Humanitarian Operations in the North and East by awarding prestigious Gallantry Medals, Weera Wickrama Vibhushanaya (WWV) and Rana Wickrema Padakkama(RWP) in a glittering ceremony at Temple Trees Monday (15) afternoon.
The ceremony that witnessed a representative 216 War Heroes honoured with those Gallantry Medals was graced by a galaxy of distinguished invitees, including the Prime Minister, Secretary Defence and Urban Development, Chief of Defence Staff, Tri-service Commanders, Inspector General of the Police, Chiefs of Staff of the Army, Navy and Air Force, Ranaviru Seva Authority Chairperson, state officials, tri-service senior officers, next of kin of fallen War Heroes, medal recipients and other invitees.
The brief, but dignified investiture ceremony at Temple Trees symbolically awarded these Gallantry Medals to a total of 147 Army War Heroes, 43 sailors and 26 airmen after citations were read out to the august gathering. In view of the magnitude of the number of recipients, the remainder is to be awarded at respective regimental ceremonies shortly.
A total of 156 Gallantry Medals of Weera Wickrama Vibhushanaya (WWV), 2232 of Rana Wickrema Padakkama (RWP) and 16,770 of Rana Sura Padakkama(RSP) are expected to be awarded to War Heroes of the tri-services during these ceremonies after Monday’s (15) main inaugural ceremony at Temple Trees was over.
Giving a symbolic meaning to numerous sacrifices made by thousands of War Heroes, the President at first pinned the Medals on Tri service Commanders before he moved to honour other War Heroes who sweated day and night to bring peace to Mother Sri Lanka. Accordingly, separate groups representing Tri services ranging from senior ranks to the lower ones were awarded those honours by the President.
Those medals symbolically recognize the most sacred bravery, commitment, dedication and invaluable sacrifices our War Heroes made during the humanitarian operations in the North and East which finally brought durable peace to the country.
President Rajapaksa as the Chief Guest arrived at the investiture ceremony soon after the Prime Minister was received on arrival. As tri-service personnel rent the air with melodies of ‘Danno Budunge’, seconds after completion of representative investiture, the National Anthem signaled the culmination of the day’s proceedings.
Earlier during the victory day parade, ‘Parama Weera Vibushanaya’ (PWV) Gallantry Medals were awarded to tri-services War Heroes.
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