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I visited the regimental headquarters of the SLLI accompanied by Major Nalin Marasinghe to see this magnificent memorial. The Colonel of the Regiment Major General Amal Karunasekera (the present Chief of Staff of the Army) explained to me the significance of this monument and said, “This structure is a salute to the officers and men of our regiment who were killed in action. It is the idea and concept of former Army Commander Lt. General Daya Ratnayake, who is also from the SLLI Regiment. All serving soldiers of our Regiment gathered together to make this dream a reality. We remember and honour, daily, the altruism and gallantry of our fallen comrades”.

Work on the monument began in 2009- it was designed by architect Jayampathy Herath. The entire cost was borne by the regiment. On October 26 2015 it was declared open by President Maithripala Sirisena. The Sri Lanka Light Infantry Regiment made a significant contribution to eliminate terrorism according to Maj. General Karunasekera who said, “We are proud that four of our soldiers were posthumously decorated with the PWV medal (the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya is the highest military medal for bravery)”.

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