Rebellious Acts

Heroes Remember

Rebellious Acts

Transcript

I was north for I think about two or three weeks. I moved forward to the city and we were inside our camp. We didn’t see a lot of it. What we mostly seen was the locals when they took over the local hospital in Skopje. They were tossing people out windows and stuff that were Serbs because the local hospital at one time was all run and controlled by the Serbs. So when the locals found out they got control of the hospital now, there was retribution coming the other way now and they were hurting these people and unfortunately these people get dropped off because we were on the way a bit north to Serbia they knew there was a NATO country there and we were about two kilometres down the road from the hospital. People would make their way to our main gate and somehow we’d get told and we’d set up one piece of canvas because we couldn’t allow them to come on our base. So we'd be told to take a look at somebody out at the gate and they had canvas set up there and we’d sneak him in during the night time. We’d go up and bandage them, whatever, if they were cut, do what we could to sustain them and then as soon as it was dark they would be put in a vehicle and driven to the border and they’d do back to Serbia. Again, it had to be a non-marked vehicle so you couldn’t be seen helping the Serbs because then the locals would say we’re playing sides. So we just couldn’t be seen helping them in anyway like medical so that’s why we put them in the canvas, wouldn’t allow them on camp. You brought them in camp now you have to take more control and care of them and stuff like that so we’d do it outside the gate, help them what we could and then get them back to Serbia. Then we were kicked out of the country, told that this part of our deployment wasn’t allowed to be in country and where we had to go back to where we were in FYROM. We were still doing our three times a week deliveries up north and you’re seeing all the, I guess... they would be setting up for rallies and protests, you’d see them gathering in the streets and stuff like that in some of these countries and NATO trying to calm them down and things like that. We seen a lot of funerals, mass graves, things like that because you are driving by and you could see what they’re doing and they were told not to gather in more than twelve in a group especially with uniforms on. We were taking pictures of thirty or forty people all with weapons and their clothes on and everything else. They all had to remove their patches saying the Kosovo Army and they were all sewing them back on. So you seen a lot of that kind of stuff, a little bit of disobedience you might say starting to happen at the end of my tour.

Description

Locals get control of the hospital and commit numerous acts of violence and destruction. Mr. Williams explains his inability to intervene.

Andy Williams

Mr. Williams was born June 24, 1964 in Trenton, Ontario. His father being in the Air Force, Mr. Williams had the strong desire to join, however, when his time came, the decision for service would be army and began his training career as an army medic. In 1985 he joined as a reservist and spent 25 years with the Regular Force. In 1997, Mr. Williams was deployed to Bosnia with the Lord Strathcona’s Horse Royal Canadians holding rank of master corporal. Another opportunity for a posting was exercised in 1998 when he deployed to Kosovo, this time with the 1 Service Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment. Mr. William’s army career as a medic took him to many In-Canada posting serving with the Canadian military and upon retirement resides in Berwick, Nova Scotia with his wife and family.

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