Joseph Louis Laplante

I was working as a Corporal Vehicle Technician assigned to maintain the armoured vehicle in Valcartier QC, when my Warrant Officer came to meet me to discuss and tell me that I was leaving for a Mission soon and that I had to start training in Weapons, Grenades, Communication, Logistics, Medical, and Administration etc. Also, to complete a mandate in case of incapacity and to learn the rules of engagement for our own protection and the protection of others. The pre-deployment training lasted about three months. During an administrative training day, I had a meeting with the Chaplain (Regimental Priest) as my wife was two months pregnant with our second child and he wanted to know if there was a problem with me going on a six-month mission. My wife and I talked it over and she said yes and put up with it straight away knowing what she was expecting. She is wonderful.

As an Armoured Vehicle Mechanic Corporal, you must know a lot of things other than mechanics. I was the Head of the Armoured Vehicle called the Husky of the AVGP family. The various mechanical maintenance tasks that awaited us were engine adjustments, brake maintenance more often than usual as the wheels get filled with mud and dirt. Also, the hydraulics like the winch and the crane to get the vehicles out of the mud and to tow them back if necessary. My huge toolbox with an inventory of spare parts and special tools and lubricants and chain drives on the wheels. Our inventory of ammunition and weaponry was quite sufficient as well as a rail mounted machine gun and grenades and smoke and M-72's placed in order inside the Husky as well as our C-7 assault rifle which we had to always keep clean. We were well equipped to succeed in our mission.

The military vehicles of the convoy were often several on the road to carry supplies to the camps such as food, fuel, and various equipment and it was then that my Husky vehicle joined the ranks of the convoy at the rear of the convoy with the ambulance. And off we went on an adventure for several days on the sometimes icy and muddy roads towards the Adriatic coast to bail out. Problems encountered on the dangerous roads were commonplace like contaminated fuel filters, overheating brakes in the mountains, battery charging system, fluid leaks, flat tires, and I could name many more. In fact, the smell of diesel fuel was part of the daily routine and on our clothes too and the cold. The fighting forces installed mine bypasses to make it more difficult for us in convoy and the fatigue that came into play. We had to make do with it and repair to leave as quickly as possible despite the presence of the sometimes-aggressive belligerents. The whole days driving in convoy, one had to rest and sleep on the way. When the convoy vehicles were stopped for the night sometimes it was during this time that we completed the repairs and maintenance of the vehicles so that we were always ready, this was our job and our responsibility. One evening we stopped at a British camp, and we all slept in the gym for a few hours. There must have been over 300 men and women from the British, Dutch, and other UN contingents sharing space in the local gym. Sometimes the same gym was used as a temporary prison. Early the next morning we set off on the road with our Armoured Vehicle Husky and our machine gun ready to go.

Most of the maintenance and repair of the Canadian vehicles was done at Camp VISOKO in Bosnia-Herzegovina, about a 40-minute drive from the City of Sarajevo, which was mostly destroyed by Serbian artillery and mortar fire. The residents of Sarajevo were as terrified as others anywhere else.

One evening in January 1994 while we were working on the vehicles at Camp Visoko our supervisors came running to us and there was an emergency because one of our 12 RBC armoured vehicles (Cougar) had turned upside down and maybe there were casualties we didn't know about. So by the time I got my tool box in the Husky we were off and running to get there as quickly as possible to deploy our winch and also the Tow Truck was there and several civilians.

During the recovery procedure, out of nowhere a T-54 Armoured vehicle of the warring parties passed by our parked HUSKY vehicle and drove on without stopping then smashing part of the back of the Husky and luckily for us, we were in the clear. Inside the damaged Cougar vehicle, the batteries were damaged, and the battery acid was everywhere, and on my clothes, because I had to go inside to make adjustments. The acid in contact with the clothes makes holes in your clothes. However, no one was hurt, and we returned to Camp Visoko with the damaged vehicles which we would repair shortly.

The various Peacekeeping Units such as the French and British Troops, also the Dutch forces and of course the Canadians, had all worked well as a team and supported each other. A fact known to all was the excellent reputation of the Kitchens in our camp in Visoko. On a well-deserved break during our six-month mission, we went to St. Peter's in Italy in March 1994 and had a private audience with the Holy Father John Paul 2. There were about 70 of us Soldiers in front of the Holy Father and our Colonel Moore Commanding Officer of 12 RBC said afterwards that he had never experienced us being so quiet and you could have heard a fly flying as the Holy Father entered our meeting. Shortly after completing the Mission and returning to Canada my wife gave birth to a lovely daughter whom we named Jessika the little sister of our son Simon. Arte & Marte.