I recently donated a flag displaying the Red Cross to the American Red Cross in the National Capital Region at their headquarters in Fairfax, VA. I’m a retired senior medical physician’s assistant now living in Virginia following retirement after having served 31 years with the Canadian Forces Medical Services. My American-born wife, Maya, and I came across the flag while preparing to downsize our home. This particular flag was a backup flag for a military medical facility in Daruvar, Croatia, during the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990's. It was given to me by some of my soldiers on redeployment to Canada. The Red Cross symbol is used by the military of many nations to identify medical personnel and facilities protected under the rules of the Geneva Conventions.
Canada was one of several countries participating in a United Nations Peace Keeping Force (UNPROFOR). Canada’s participation was known as Operation Harmony.
I went to Daruvar in 1992 to augment the staff, as the senior noncommissioned officer, of a Battalion Medical Station already deployed to Daruvar. Most of the troops at that time were in Sarajevo and the city was under constant sniper fire and frequent shelling and mortar fire. Part of my job was to establish a semi-permanent medical clinic in Daruvar in preparation for the medical resources redeploying from Sarajevo. Although quieter than Sarajevo, Daruvar was in the conflict zone where the occasional gunshot or explosion was heard. The medical station was established in part of an orphanage/school where many children were homeless and without family as a result of fighting in Croatia.
Many of the troops, including the medical personnel, returning from Sarajevo had witnessed the gruesomeness of war as played out during the Siege of Sarajevo, particularly along one of the main roads that became known as “Sniper Alley” because of the indiscriminate sniping, from hills surrounding the city, at civilians going about their chores and trying to survive in their war-torn city.
In one particular instance, the medical personnel and other soldiers participated in the rescue and initial treatment of up to 10 children, aged seven to 10, killed or severely injured as a result of a mortar round landing in their midst. The children frequently visited the building where the Canadian contingent was established. The troops on the lower level would often pass them food, usually candy, and the children would scurry off to a particular area to enjoy their treats. Unfortunately, and perhaps deliberately, a mortar round fell among them.
Needless to say, some of the medical staff and other soldiers were psychologically traumatized by what they witnessed and experienced. It often manifested itself in bouts of depression, nightmares, not eating or difficulty carrying out daily tasks. In one instance, I found a soldier sitting alone on a stone wall of a of a destroyed house. I watched him for a while, as the soldier smoked cigarette after cigarette. I went over to him, sat beside him for a while before asking him, “How are you doing?” The soldier immediately burst into tears and after much sobbing related what he saw and his participation in the rescue of the children. He was one of the soldiers who that day had given the children candy. Post-deployment psychological counseling was provided to all who had such experiences.
I was very appreciative of the professionalism and bravery of the medical personnel that staffed the Battalion Medical Station during my time in Daruvar, and I will always be grateful that I was a part of that team. To be given the flag was an honor and to have it accepted by the Red Cross means that perhaps once again it will be used to symbolize a place of aid and comfort and sanctuary.
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