Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Eng. Karunasena Hettiarachchi graced the Armed Forces Remembrance Day and Poppy Ceremony held at the War Memorial at the Vihara Maha Devi Park in Colombo today (13th Sunday, November 2016).The annual event was organized by the Sri Lanka Ex- Servicemen's Association.

Minister of Regional Development Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka attended the occasion as the chief guest.

Secretary Hettiarachchi together with other invitees paid floral tributes at the monument during the ceremony.

The annual ceremony is held in memory of all war heroes who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the defence of the motherland.

The War Memorial in Colombo was initially erected in November 07th, 1921 at the Galle Face but the cenotaph was later dismantled and reassembled at its present location during the Second World War as it was thought to be a prominent land mark for approaching enemy reconnaissance aircraft.

Army and Navy commanders, members of the diplomatic corps, members of the Sri Lanka Ex- Servicemen's Association, military veterans, family members of fallen war heroes and a large number of service personnel attended the event.