Lucky aspired for 'Carpet of Peace'

by Sarath GUNAWARDANA

Almost two decades ago, 19 years to be exact, the cruel hand of fate snatched from our midst, Major General Lucky Wijayaratne.

He was positioned in Trincomalee, as the Area Commander/Co-ordinating Officer, when the deadly bomb blast at Morayaya snuffed out his life in December, 1990.

He was a very duty conscious, obedient and disciplined officer, for whom the service commitments ranked uppermost, always.

He strongly believed that strict discipline can bring out to focus the full force of commitment and power among his charges in order to achieve success of any goal at hand.

I had been with him at Mahinda College-Galle from his young days and was close enough to see his progress as he climbed through from class to class at Mahinda and, thereafter too, until his untimely death.

Having been born in Galle to a very reputed family of high social standing and respected by all alike in and around Galle and its beyonds, he received from his young days the very rudiments of good discipline and obedience which had a strong hand in shaping and moulding his character. With this initial direction, he emerged later on as a very simple, law-abiding, productive and a useful one to the society and to the country. His father, being a very popular and a proven native doctor whose healing prowess was a household word in the whole area, was blessed with a stream of patients converging daily to his "Weda Oushadalaya" seeking the solace of his healing hand for their various silments.

Thus Lucky (the name by which he was mostly referred to from his young days) was treated to a dose of reality of life and he saw and learnt the painful side of the life which etched a lasting impression on him. This experience, I believe went a long way in making him one, who was very concerned and always possessing a sympathetic attitude, when dealing in matters connected with people and their affairs.

During his school times, he was always among the first five students who procured high aggregate marks in every year-end examination. He displayed a special proficiency in the subject English language which attracted to him a special place among his friends in his class.

He was always anxious to share his knowledge with others and helped many who came to him for such purpose. Nearing the end of the school career when the time came for him to choose a profession as his career, he opted for the military service and in 1964 he joined the Army and successfully underwent initial Training and proceeded to Pakistan Military Academy for his advanced training. Subsequently he followed successfully so many advanced courses in the Island and abroad with which he obtained wider knowledge. The high performance levels at those trainings earned him a scholarship for a Postgraduate study (MSc.) in strategic warfare at the Aberdeen University in Scotland. Many are the different trainings that he underwent and all were completed very successfully.

He was an avid reader of books in diverse fields and, this equipped him with wide knowledge in many different fields.

This acquired vast knowledge, together with his speech skills placed him above all his peers and this gained him the centre stage in all gatherings with his near and dear and with his friends.

He was very convinced and aware, that when wars are thrust upon countries which are economically less sound, the wars have to be waged and continued sometimes, without the required quota of military hardware due to prevailing import restrictions resulting from the scarcity of foreign exchange. However, he was of the firm conviction that unfailing courage and unflinching commitment in a strong setting of mutual trust, can certainly make up for scantiness of resources, if the available resources at hand were prudently planned and then plans were carried out to completion.

In the battlefield he was ever alert and so alert that, many a time, he lost less time in bed than a well-to-do in the peaceful city climes, lost at table.

He had several times mentioned to me that the highest reward that he would ever aspire to enjoy was to see the country in one piece with the 'Carpet of Peace' being rolled-out along the length and breadth of Sri Lanka.

He performed all the duties that fell upon his shoulders to the best of his ability. His keen foresight hinted him about the possible impending enemy attacks and how best those could be forestalled with pre-emptive action. He progressed very much in plugging up the loop holes available to the enemy through which the destructive operations were being carried out.

The terrorists, feeling the heat of his strong presence in the area and the ever mounting difficulties to their operations, hatched a sure plan to trap him in one of their deadly blasts to finish him off together with those who were with him at the time of the blast.

This ended his life and with it, the Sri Lanka Army lost a valiant battle-hardened officer, the country a true patriot and obedient son, to his family and the near and dear, a beloved husband, an affectionate father and a sincere brother and to us a true friend whom we could always count on in the hour of need.

This irreparable loss immobilized us and deadened our hearts for so long that only the great healer, "The Time", could offer us any solace to get over the grief, only a long long time after.