Al Jones

After my arrival and briefing in Damascus I proceeded to Jerusalem for orientation training before reporting to Nahariya, Israel, for duty in South Lebanon. Arriving in Nahariya, I reported to the Reception and Evacuation Centre (REC), received my duty schedule, and was advised UNMO’s reported for duty through UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Naqoura, Lebanon.

Memories of my duty tour are of a unique, enjoyable, and humorous posting. When I deployed, I left at home two young daughters and, unknown to either of us, a pregnant wife. A few weeks after arrival, I received a telephone call from home, at the REC. I took the call in a private office, with apparently very thin walls, as I learned my wife was expecting our third child. I was delighted and, after speaking with my wife, opened the office door to the loud and boisterous applause of all who heard the good news at the same time as myself. 

Residing in Nahariya necessitated crossing the Lebanon/Israeli border for each tour of duty. Such crossings could pose problems as, for example, when a Lebanese national, offended at the driver of a UN vehicle, stopped, exited his vehicle, and opened fire over the other vehicle to vent his frustration. 

Observation Posts (OPs) had a four-man, unarmed, international team with the primary duty of observing and reporting, to UNIFIL HQ, any activity by the Israel Defence Force (IDF) or Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) within our Area of Responsibility (AOR). We served one week on duty and one week off duty. I served at OPs Ras, Mar, Lab, Hin, Khiam, and with Teams Metulla and Tyre. In addition to observation duties, we completed vehicle patrols of our AOR. My first tour of duty was at OP Hin. The two-story OPs were normally a small walled compound with a generator building, a two-story OP building containing living quarters on the ground floor and an observation area on the top floor. Using Jeep Cherokee vehicles, we departed Nahariya, crossed the Lebanon border, reported to Naqoura, and then proceeded to our assigned OP. The roads were in poor condition and there was much war damage to the areas through which we drove. 

While rarely threatened by the PLO or by local factions, UNMOs were occasionally harassed, hijacked, or their OP was physically entered by armed intruders with vehicle and equipment being stolen. UNIFIL HQ was notified by radio after the event, but unarmed UNMOs never offered resistance and allowed the intruders to depart, hopefully without incident. 

During my tour I served with many different UNMOs, all of whom were commissioned officers. Many of my humorous memories harken back to the requirement of UNMOs having to prepare a dinner meal, including dinner drinks (alcohol was permitted), appetizers, and dessert for their fellow team members during our five days on duty. One lucky soul had the thrill of cooking two dinner meals during the five-day rotation. UNMOs provided their own food and refreshments, including that for their four-member dinner. OP kitchens were often rudimentary, consisting of a gas stove, with or without a working temperature gauge, sundry pots and pan, dishes and utensils. I was comfortable cooking, but my first meal truly was an adventure. I prepared a tasty ‘Chinese chicken’ recipe which I had made many times at home. My first problem was discovering there was no oven temperature gauge, plus I had never cooked with gas. Additionally, there were no metal trays or racks on which to place the chicken. Using the limited utensils available, I prepared the chicken as best I could and placed it in the oven before going upstairs to offer Canadian whiskey drinks and some small appetizer snacks before supper. After several minutes, I returned to the kitchen to find smoke pouring from the oven. Opening the oven, I saw chicken grease furiously smoking and small flames burning under the pans. Ultimately the chicken was finished through a process of cooking and smoking. My other meals improved as I adapted to the limited resources. 

There was a French Major who always arrived for OP duty with a minimum of a dozen bottles of wine, shared none, and finished the tour with an equal number of empty wine bottles. There was also a Swedish Captain who asked how to make a green salad. I advised him and that night he just put all the ingredients on the table and told us to make our own. I also served with an Argentine Major who was very proud of his sardine pizza. After we ate the first, unfortunately he advised a second was just finishing in the oven. Oh boy! We did not want to offend a fellow UNMO, so we finished the second pizza, with a few extra drinks. During one tour, a young Danish UNMO, who listened to too many UNMO tales in Nahariya, brought a bottle of Canadian whisky. Seated at the dinner table, he opened the bottle and threw the cap out the OP door, believing we would consume the bottle that evening. During a trip to a Beirut market, I walked past a meat market with a skinned pig hanging outside, covered in flies and with a large sprig of fresh greenery protruding from its hind quarters. Not so appetizing.

Invited to visit Team Metulla by a Swedish UNMO, Nils, who was not military but rather a TV personality who volunteered for UNMO duties, something apparently permissible and not uncommon in Sweden. Myself and a group of others accepted and upon arrival were greeted by Nils, wearing a chef’s cap, standing behind a seven-foot sandbag wall preparing to open a can of Surstromming. Surstromming is fermented herring and provides vitamin D in areas with very limited sunlight. The can was distended showing the fermentation, but Nils assured us the Swedish medical officer had confirmed it was safe to consume. Placing the can atop the sandbag wall he began opening it and with a hiss a most noxious odour was released, which one guest described as far worse than any privy he had encountered. However, we all tried a small piece, once! None were ill but it was certainly a once in a lifetime experience. 

Scheduled to complete my duty tour in February 1982 it was extended until March as my replacement was unable to arrive as planned. On 19 March at OP Hin, I completed my only UN duty tour and returned home. 

On 25 July 2006, during hostilities with the Hezbollah, the Israeli air force bombed OP Khiam killing all four UNMOs, including Major Paeta Hess-von Kruedener, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.