This interview is a part of DVA's ongoing Veterans' Stories project. See transcript below. For more veterans' stories go to [ Ссылка ]

"Timor was part of Indonesia and there was a vote held to see if they wanted autonomy. And when that vote was held, Timor voted to be an independent or sovereign state. And when that occurred, the security situation deteriorated. And so there was a UN mandate cut to effectively provide security into Timor to allow for the withdrawal of Indonesian Armed Forces and allow Timor to set up as its own entity. So that's why we were there. And I guess which leads to one of the very first or key things 5/7 did. There was Xanana Gusmão, the leader of the independence movement then for Timor and subsequently went on to be their leader. He returned to East Timor. And so there was a rally held for his return and my platoon was part of that. So Bravo Company, we were given the job of security. And so there was concern that there might be a threat against him and there was security for him, but really we were there because the crowd was going to be huge and it was. And were there as the quick reaction force or held there just in case. There were the other platoons. There were platoons that were doing security in and out of the venue, but we were held there just in case we were needed for a security reason and just a huge day, right? I was in awe of it then, being responsible or being part of it. But it's only when you get a bit older and you're out of it, you're fully grasped that this was an incredibly important moment at the founding of Timor-Leste. And, it's a bit sad because I can't remember anything that Xanana Gusmão said because I was so focused on our job that day and so forth. But in hindsight, one of those defining moments in history and was fortunate enough to be part of it."

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