The Observer Role

Heroes Remember

The Observer Role

Transcript

My job as an officer, my role as an officer is the execution of violence. You either execute it in a peaceful manner or a violent manner. Now you notice I said the execution of violence, not... I don’t do it, I plan it, I lead men to do it. So it’s very hard when all of a sudden your role becomes to be an observer only and you can do nothing about it and that was very hard. Were we scared? Yes, scared stiff. Most of us were. You didn’t show it, you had your way of getting around it, but yes, you were scared. But you knew that if we could have the biggest machine gun in town, it made no difference. Somebody would have a bigger one. Having none threw them all for a loop. We were unarmed and everybody knew it so it was no use shooting me and say - oops, it was a mistake, because everybody knew we didn’t have a weapon. And UNTSO answered to the Security Council and so whenever we, and believe me, we had guys that were caught in fire-fights, and what had happened, was there’d be four or five of us all from different countries would get together and get a vehicle and get out of the vehicle and start walking towards where our guys were under fire, and you know what? Both sides would stop firing, because when all of a sudden you’ve got explain why you’re killing an American, a Russian, a Dutch, a Norwegian, a Canadian, it becomes kind of hard.

Description

Mr. Henry discusses how peacekeeping took him from a proactive military role to one of an unarmed observer. He describes feeling helpless and empowered at the same time.

William Henry

William Henry was born September 2, 1939 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. His father was a Second World War Veteran, which inspired Mr. Henry to join the School Cadet Corps. He received officer training and was commissioned in the 17th Recce, PEI Regiment. Upon completing his degree at Dalhousie University, he was re-commissioned in the Royal Canadian Dragoons. Mr. Henry eventually joined the Lord Strathcona’s Horse, attaining the rank of Major. His tours of duty included Cyprus, writing the orders of occupation for Sinai, and acting as an observer in Lebanon, a role he found difficult given his training as a military strategist.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 2:16
Person Interviewed:: William Henry
War, Conflict or Mission:: Canadian Armed Forces
Location/Theatre:: Lebanon
Branch:: Army
Units/Ship:: Lord Strathcona’s Horse
Rank:: Major
Occupation:: Observer, Controller

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The Observer Role

Heroes Remember