Weerodara Vibhushanaya
The Weerodara Vibhushanaya (WV, Decoration of Heroism) (Sinhala: වීරෝධාර වීභූෂණය vīrōdāra vibhūṣanaya) is the second-highest decoration awarded by the Military of Sri Lanka awarded for:
...individual acts of gallantry and conspicuous bravery of a non-military nature of the most exceptional order performed voluntarily with no regard to his own life and security with the objective of saving or safeguarding the life or lives of a person or personnel imperiled by death or for a meritorious act or a series of acts of a humane nature of an exceptional order displayed in saving life from drowning, fire and rescue operations in mines, floods and similar calamities under circumstances of grave bodily injury or great danger to the life of the rescuer...
— [1]
| Weerodara Vibhushanaya | |
|---|---|
 Medal, obverse (right), reverse (left) | |
| Type | Military/Civil decoration |
| Awarded for | Individual acts of exceptional gallantry and bravery of a non military nature, performed on a serviceperson's own initiative without any regard for their own life or well-being |
| Description | Suspended from a plain suspension bar |
| Presented by | Sri Lanka |
| Eligibility | All ranks of the tri services (regular/volunteer) |
| Post-nominals | WV |
| Clasps | None |
| Status | Currently awarded |
| Established | 1981 |
 | |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | Parama Weera Vibhushanaya |
| Next (lower) | Weera Wickrama Vibhushanaya |
The award is equivalent to the British George Cross and the Indian Ashoka Chakra Award, and is the highest peacetime military decoration awarded by Sri Lanka.
Award process
The medal is awarded to all ranks of the tri forces (both regular- and volunteer service personnel) and civilians., following recommendation by service commanders. The degree of courage shown is taken into consideration during the review process.
The award is presented by the President, with recipients able to use the post-nominal letters "WV".
Selected recipients
- Navy
- Admiral D.W.S. Dissanayake
- Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne
- Army
- Warrant Officer P. L. S. L. Cooray - Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment[2]
- Corporal R P R Wickramapala - Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment
- Air Force
- Corporal R.M.S Rathnayake
- Warrant Officer Y.M.S. Yaparathne[3]
References
- "Medals". Sri Lanka Army. army.lk. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
- Warrant Officer P. L. S. L. Cooray
- "The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka" (PDF).
