During 1971 JVP insurrection against then Sirimavo Bandaranaike Government, Lieutenant Colonel Donald D Hewagama was given an assignment to overlook the prevailing administration setup in the north central area of Sri Lanka and was sent with a convoy of armed military vehicles and on his way back from the destination he sighted a gathering of youth detained by the soldiers under emergency law in a road crossing near Warakapola area in the North Western province of the country. He immediately ordered his convoy to stop and got off from his car and held an inquiry on the spot. He found that some of these children who were not even in their teens have been used as scapegoats by the ruthless terrorists to carry their letters. He pardoned all of these children and brought them down to the Army Headquarters in Colombo to be rehabilitated and later released. He retired from the army on 22 October 1982.