United Nations Transitional
Authority in Cambodia
(UNTAC)
We lived in the village of O'Smach, about 2 km from the Thai border.
The village is at the top of Chong Cham pass, and was the scene of very heavy
fighting in August, 1997, five years after I was there.
The arrow points to the farthest we ever
patrolled towards
the village of Anlong
Veng, the primary Khmer Rouge fortress.
The areas outlined in red are heavily mined. We saw
numerous
mines explode while we were in
Cambodia. The lines drawn in
purple
are roads that were cut through the jungle, usually going
around the old French roads, which were too heavily mined to
use.
These were roads we patrolled
regularly.
UNTAC Team 302/304,
June-December 1992
Loading our Land Cruiser
into a Russian Mil
Mi-26 helicopter
Our Team Headquarters in
the village of O'Smach
We rented the house from General Sen
Chamrong, the ANKI general
in charge of this area.
Moving into the HQ.
That's Maj. Patrick Jacques
(French Army) and Maj. Richard Lyle (British Army)
flanking Jean-Yves.
LtCol Nick Teal, British
Army, marking
weapons
that were turned in
Ammo turned in by cantoned ANKI
troops. The ANKI (Armee
National Kampuchea Independent) was the faction who
controlled
the area
around O'Smach. They are headed by Prince NORODOM RANARIDDH, son of Prince
NORODOM SIHANOUK, the King
who abdicated and then ran for President before the Khmer
Rouge time.
And here we have a Naval
Surface Line Officer
assigned as a UN Observer in the jungles of Cambodia.
I ended up leading our team for quite
a while.
Jean-Yves and I having lunch before
digging out
the Land
Cruiser
Captain Stoyko Barbov,
Bulgarian Air Force.
Well, if a Navy Officer from the US can be a UN
Observer, Why not the Bulgarian Air
Force?
Jean-Yves Cornet, French
Army,
with a M-16/M203
(This was a staged
photo, we were not allowed weapons
because we were UN Observers,
not
peacekeeping
troops
Pich Hatha, our friend and
interpreter,
holding an
AK-47 (The natives called them
Aww-Kaa)