Tyron Silvapulle Wing Commander Tyron D . S . Silvapulle , PWV , RWP . RWP ( also referred to as Tyronne Silvapulle , died 17 December 1999 ) was Sri Lankan pilot . He distinguished himself as a capable helicopter pilot in the Sri Lanka Air Force during the Sri Lankan Civil War . Silvapulle was killed in action in northern Sri Lanka , and posthumously awarded the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya , the country ' s highest military award for gallantry . To date , he is the only recipient of the award from the Sri Lanka Air Force . Early life and military career . Silvapulle was educated at St . Joseph ' s College , Colombo . He was married at the time of his death , with his wife expecting a child . Silvapulle joined in the air force on 18 May 1986 , under the enlistment number 01502 . He was part of the 16th pilot intake to the air force , and served as a pilot in both the northern and eastern fronts during the war . Silvapulle flew Bell 212 and Mil Mi - 17 transport helicopters as a general duties pilot before being assigned to the No . 9 Attack Helicopter Squadron to pilot the air force ' s Mil Mi - 24 gunships . Action on 17 December 1999 . On 17 December 1999 , the army ' s forward defence lines at Thamilamadam near Elephant Pass came under attack from a group of Tamil Tiger boats . The Air Force dispatched two Mi - 24 gunships to provide close air support for the troops at the defence lines . Silvapulle , a Squadron Leader at the time , led the formation piloting his Mi - 24 with the identification numbers CH - 618 . Suspecting that the Tamil Tigers may be armed with surface - to - air missiles , he ordered his wingman to stay out of range and proceeded to attack the boats , repelling the attack and forcing them to retreat . Despite adverse weather conditions and the potential danger to his aircraft , Silvapulle continued to pursue the fleeing boats and attack them . However , his gunship was hit by a projectile , which the military later suspected was an anti - aircraft missile . The damaged aircraft crashed into the Kilali lagoon , killing Silvapulle , his co - pilot and two gunners . Their bodies were later retrieved in a joint operation by the air force and army . Some vital components of the gunship were salvaged , and the rest of the wreckage was demolished . This incident was the second time that a Mi - 24 of the air force had been taken down by enemy fire . Awards and recognition . Silvapulle received the Rana Wickrama Padakkama and the Rana Sura Padakkama , the fourth and fifth highest awards respectively for gallantry during combat , in 1994 . He was also awarded a number of service and campaign medals . Silvapulle was promoted to the rank of Wing Commander after his death , and recommended for the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya . It was approved more than 12 years later , after the end of the war . The decision to award the medal was announced in The Sri Lanka Gazette on 16 May 2012 . The citation for his medal commends his actions on 17 December 1999 as follows : His medal was awarded to his next - of - kin on 19 May 2012 by Mahinda Rajapaksa , the President of Sri Lanka , at the celebrations marking the third anniversary of the end of the war . Silvapulle is the first and only recipient of the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya from the air force .