Saliya Upul Aladeniya

Captain Samarakoon Wasala Mudiyanselage Saliya Upul Aladeniya, PWV, SLSR (in Sinhalese: කපිතාන් සාලිය උපුල් අලදෙනිය; 1 March 1963 – 11 June 1990) was a Sri Lankan army officer and the second recipient of the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, Sri Lanka's highest wartime award for valor. He was commanding the small army detachment at Kokavil, when it was surrounded. He refused to abandon the injured and fought until they were overrun by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Early life Born in Kandy, his father was a planter in the State Plantations Corporation and a captain in the Ceylon Volunteer Force. He had two siblings. Educated at Trinity College Kandy, he worked on a small estate owned by his family.

Military service He joined the Sri Lanka Army in 1989 as a volunteer officer. Following a short commissioning course at the Sri Lanka Military Academy, he was commissioned as second lieutenant in the 2nd (V) Battalion, Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment. He served with the battalion in Nuwara Eliya during the later stages of the 1987–1989 JVP insurrection. He was later transferred to the 3rd (V) Battalion, Sinha Regiment and was attached to the A company. The next day Mankulam and Kokavil were surrounded by the LTTE. On June 16, there was a ceasefire, the Captain in charge of the camp and fifteen others went on leave. Leaving Lieutenant Aladeniya in charge. Final words spoken by Lt. Aladeniya to Wanni headquarters were,

Aladeniya was posthumously promoted to rank of captain and awarded the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya medal on June 21, 1994, by the president DB Wijetunga. In offensive operations in 2009, the Sri Lanka Army recaptured Kokavil. In 2011, the transmission tower was rebuilt and a monument to Aladeniya and his men was built.

Family At the time of his death Aladeniya was married to Iyantha Abeysinghe https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saliya_Aladeniya_Wedding_Photo.jpg