‘Heroes Forever’ is a series dedicated to Army, Air Force, Navy and the Police personnel who have gone beyond the call of duty. This is our token of appreciation on behalf of the whole nation to recognize their courage and determination. Remember those who gave their today for your tomorrow as we herald Poppy Remembrance Month. Nilma DOLE [email protected]

Corporal H. G. R. Gamalath was one the brave air force fighters who used his instincts and common sense in the battlefield not only to suppress LTTE cadres that penetrated the FDL, but to be instrumental in capturing one who gave valuable information.

Date:        12th April 1999
Time:        0445hrs
Location:  Manupurukku (Manakulam)

In the wee hours of the morning, while he was stationed at the bund of the FDL (Forward Defence Line) in the Manupurukku area, Corporal Gamalath was on the night to day shift. "I was on duty with my comrade Corporal Kulasekera and Corporal Kumara and we were assigned sectors (areas) to look out for suspected activity" he said. It was during this time that the air force bunkers were being made from timber and sawdust around the FDL, 10 metres away from the Manakulam road. "Beyond our purview, there are various sectors assigned to members in the air force supervised by section commanders" he said.

"I was on duty near the Mannaram road where there was a footpath. However, as I assumed duty I heard a rustling in the bushes of the jungle and thought it was likely that wild boar must be scuttling around", he said. Upon hearing this, he stood in silence and wondered what was happening even though wild boar in the jungle was a common occurrence. "I strained my ears to listen but wasn't too bothered about it but the rustling sound became closer", he said. Thereafter, Corporal Gamalath heard some hushed voices being spoken but couldn't determine what it really was. "I still thought about wild boar and the whispers could mean that they were making sounds but I didn't make any movements like chasing them away, so I just stood and listened" he said.

All of a sudden, he saw a human figure clambering on a tree which was near his post. "I could barely make out the outline because it was rather dark to get a clear picture of who it was" said the Corporal. Nevertheless, he didn't move or speak but carefully watched from his duty point. "I knew before that there had been some ambush strategy going on because earlier we had heard that some LTTE had penetrated the area" he said. Even though it could have been one of his men, Corporal Gamalath was just watching the movement of this particular person. "I noticed that it was a male figure and he climbed the tree, looked over the horizon, and then climbed back down" he said. Later, he heard whispering sounds coming from the place where he saw the person. "I was wondering what was going on because whispering wasn't quite the norm when we give our men instructions. Suddenly I detected some suspicion as they didn't talk that long because our commanders often gave valuable information before moving on" he said.

After this suspicious activity, Corporal Gamalath strained his ears and listened carefully but now it occurred to him that there was a team, moving around the sector where he was stationed. "I knew they had to be an LTTE outfit so instinctively I reached out for the powerful LMG weapon and fired at my fullest capacity" he said. All at once, the LTTE cadres ducked down in the bushes for cover and thought that a bomb had gone off due to the sheer monstrosity of the LMG noise. "But the LMG misfired yet they were afraid of their lives. I used the T81 which we had loaded and kept in case we misfired in the first attack" said the Corporal.

The LTTE cadres then started scrambling for safety. "I saw that there were three in the outfit and that they were now trying to seek refuge under the indigenous 'Pallu' tree so I started firing again", he said. However, with the firepower, one was injured and was trying to amble along but at the next attack he was struck down. One cadre tried to retaliate with a hand grenade but Corporal Gamalath was too quick for him and put him down attacked with the grenade. "The section commander at the next point noticed my firing and called for reinforcements to help me with the confrontation" he said. But the last LTTE cadre who was trying to escape was badly injured and then started waving his arms begging them not to hurt him. "We saw that he was surrendering and we went to capture him" he said. "We cleared the area, we discovered that two more bodies lying which were caught up in the confrontation when I fired the T81" said Corporal Gamalath. They even uncovered loot of communication devices, radio sets, food and weapons.

0515hrs: The confrontation finished as they caught the LTTE cadre and interrogated him for information. He told that he was part of a 14 cadre team that was looking for a UAD aircraft belonging to the LTTE which was apparently brought down. This was near the Puttur area and they had to recover some of the important equipment onboard the aircraft. Apparently, the LTTE outfit didn't know that it was under the purview of the air force and just travelled by foot for 42 days with their equipment, weapons and rations. After handing him over to the Officer-in-Charge, he was asked to talk to their leader via a communication device to gather information for the air force but to no avail because the LTTE bad suspected foul play. Later, reports claimed that the particular UAD aircraft had been seized by the armed forces after a confrontation. With his bravery and instinct, Corporal Gamalath is a role model for future fighters where they should heed the saying - 'Silence is Golden'.

Corporal Gamalath hails from Balangoda and attended the Kaldemulla Walahatenna school. He did his OLs and while undertaking his AL, he got a break to join the armed forces.

He selected the air force and assumed duties in 1996. Corporal Gamalath was trained at the Hingurakgoda camp and even did training for 7 months in Puliakulam. He hopes that good air force fighters will help the nation secure victory against terrorism and says that this is the greatest service for our Motherland.

For services rendered, he has garnered the title of RSP (Ranasoora Paddakama).