Wednesday, 08 August 2007

The fifteenth death anniversary of Late Lieutenant General Denzil Kobbekaduwa, then Division Commander of the Jaffna Peninsula and eight other War Heroes, who sacrificed life along with him, is commemorated today (08).

08 August 1992, Lt. Gen. Denzil Kobbekaduwa, along with Major General Wijaya Wimalarathne and several other officers and soldiers died in an LTTE terrorist blast at Arialay Point, Jaffna.

Lieutenant General Denzil Kobbekaduwa perished with other veterans like Major General Wijaya Wimalarathne, Lieutenant Colonel H.R Stephen, Lieutenant Colonel G.H. Ariyarathne, Lieutenant Colonel Y.N. Palipana, Commander Asanga Lankathilaka, Major Nalin de Aliwis, Lieutenant Commander C.B. Wijepura and Private W.J. Wickremasinghe in the blast.

This untimely lost of a hero of our times shocked the nation and thousands of mourners and patriots from every corner of the island attended his funeral.

This veteran leader was fondly loved and admired equally by the officers and soldiers and by civilians belonging to all the religions and communities of the country as well.

Lt. Gen. Denzil Kobbekaduwa, a product of Trinity College in Kandy, joined the Sri Lanka Army on 25th May 1960. After the basic military training at the Army Training centre, he left for Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, UK and was commissioned to the Sri Lanka Armoured corps as a Second Lieutenant on 03rd August 1962. An unmatched military strategist, he planned and successfully executed many military offensives against the LTTE.

Sri Lanka Armoured Corps in coordination with Mrs. Kobbekaduwa have organized a chain of meritorious activities to invoke merits on the fallen War Hero and others in the armed forces.