Harry and I were Service Commanders together, and I pay tribute to him as a colleague and a friend.
During our tenure as commanders, we did not have an “armed enemy” to deal with, but there were several situations which required the involvement of the Armed Forces to confront unruly situations and restore normalcy.
At that time the media would occasionally, and mistakenly, refer to the Armed Forces as the “ceremonial forces”. None of the Service Acts provide for “ceremonial forces” to be maintained at public expense. The “military ceremonial”, on the other hand, is a phenomenon that is essential for maintaining the morale of the forces, and is resorted to in war and peace. Even now, there are many military ceremonials in Sri Lanka.
Harry Goonetilleke, Basil Goonesekera, and after him Alfred Perera (Navy Chiefs), and I worked as a close-knit team and presented our views to the government in unison, not resorting to one-upmanship.
One result of our joint effort was the appointment of a Pay Commission in 1979, after which the services were provided with many benefits, such as a rent allowance, a ration allowance, etc, etc, and although the quantum has increased in keeping with escalating costs, no revision of pay and allowances has been examined in toto since then.
Another outstanding landmark of our joint effort was the establishment of the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence Academy (now a university), after I negotiated with Sir John for his property to be used for that purpose.
The Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) had been in vogue since the end of World War II, and one of the requirements of this new thinking was that the Army, the Navy and the Air Force worked in unison and that their officers learnt “jointness” from the very beginning of their service career. This phenomenon has, I hope, helped our forces to work jointly in the operations against the LTTE.
We also worked together to prepare regulations covering honours and awards for armed forces personnel, something that was previously non-existent.
After retirement, Harry and I worked together in the Association of Retired Flag Rank Officers (ARFRO), particularly in assisting war widows. Harry lost one of his pilot sons in the anti-LTTE conflict, and was very much motivated towards assisting war widows.
Harry spearheaded an islandwide counselling service and raised funds so that widows could follow vocational training classes. This training kept them occupied and gave them skills to earn extra money (they are all entitled to pay and pension from the government). He also organised exhibitions of their handiwork and raised funds to assist them in numerous ways.
About 12 years ago, ARFRO (Harry was the motivator) arranged for 20 widows of LTTE persons and a child each to be flown to Colombo and lodged at the Sugathadasa Stadium. An equal number of widows from the Armed Forces and a child each were brought in to join the party from the North. Although language was a barrier, the widows and children of both sides interacted happily, and after four days they were sorry to part company. The children in particular got on very well and the widows had common problems that they discussed through interpreters. ARFRO continues to do the work initiated in this connection by Harry.
Harry and I were both presidents of the Sri Lanka Ex-Servicemen’s Association, at different times. I was the president from 1993 to 1996, and Harry held the position a few years later. The welfare of ex-servicemen and servicewomen was our primary concern, and in this respect the veterans' home at Balegala, near Katana, was well cared for, in addition to numerous other projects we initiated during our respective periods of presidency.
Harry and Marion were blessed with a son who rose to command the Air Force, like his father. This is perhaps unique. Harry showed me a letter he had sent to the publishers of the Guinness Book of Records. They said they were verifying whether this was unique.
I salute Harry as a friend and colleague, and wish him all the blessings of his faith.
Desamanya Denis PereraCommander of the Sri Lanka Army (1977-1981) | 
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