Prelude - The 'Pride of South' vessel carrying 1400 army soldiers came under attack from the LTTE and Lt. Com M. S. D. Perera was the second in command onboard the P462 craft with the P442 to protect the 'Pride of South'.

Date:       17th September 2001
Time:       0530hrs
Location: North East of PPD

"At 0430hrs, we got the call to help in defending the 'Pride of South' from Lt. Com. Hevawitharana and together with the P442 manned by Lt. Com. Kirella, we rushed to the scene from the Charlie Barrier where we were stationed" said Lt. Com. Perera. In the twilight, they ventured on forward to defend the 'Pride of South' that would have meant a huge loss if it fell into the hands of the enemy. Hence, Lt. Com. Perera steered forward through the Charlie Barrier with his crew of 17 men to save his comrades.

Upon reaching the scene, they were shocked to see the manner the LTTE cadres were now forming their 'line' strategy with about 20 boats firing with brutal force. Even though squad gun boats were protecting the 'Pride of South', these vessels were fast becoming vulnerable. "By the time we reached there, we started cutting across from the 'Pride of South' towards the middle and we were so close to it that we could hear the cheers and cries of the army soldiers onboard", said Lt. Com. Perera.

"We were the first FACs to rush on the scene and we commenced defending the 'Pride of South' in the best way we could", said the Lt.Com. He said they were about 10 cables away from the 'Pride of South' vessel and the cheering of the army soldiers boosted their confidence because of the morale support to fight off the enemy was great. "I had nothing to fear because everyone cheered us on and we went ahead with our strategy" said Lt.Com.Perera.

With an ambiguous effort, the P462 made three strategic turns in the middle of the 'Pride of South' against the enemy line on the defensive attack. "I discussed the battle plan on the waters with my comrade (the late) Lt. Com. Nethasinghe and by now we were in a better position to fight" said the Lt. Com. "I used the 23mm main weapon system to defend the LTTE boats which were now forming a line firing at us" said the Lt.Com. Thinking nothing of their lives, they fought tooth and nail until the LTTE boats started sinking and this made them attempt to fight even more. "We suppressed them with every strategic method we could use and this gave us the drive to succeed" said the Lt. Com. Luckily for them, they clinched a victory and saved the 'Pride of South' carrying their army comrades.

Lt. Com. Perera hails from the town of Bandaragama and has been fascinated by having joined the armed forces from a younger age. "I was the only one in my family to serve the country by joining the forces and I'm thankful that all supported me" said the Lt. Com. He has done his Bachelor of Science in Defence Studies in the area of Management and passed out from 'Intake 14'. "At my first posting in Nilaveli from February 2000 onwards, there was an incident where I escaped miraculously an incident which made me decide that a navy career was the ideal for me" said the Lt.Com. He is one of the first to undertake the Sub Lt. course in India and has completed a Loans Communication course at NMA in India.

Lt. Com. Perera is now assigned to the Distributing Authority of the Sri Lanka Navy. He is a Publications Distributing Officer because of his extensive knowledge in this area. Lt. Com has been awarded with the RSP for his service rendered to the nation.