Ten years on: remembering fallen Peacekeepers

The crowd stands and salutes as The Last Post is played to remember four Observer Group Lebanon (OGL) Peacekeepers who were killed in action ten years ago. They were: Major Hans-Peter Lang from Austria, Major Paeta Derek Hess-von Kruedener from Canada, Lieutenant Jarno Makinen from Finland, and Major Du Zhaoyu from China. The ceremony was held at the site of their old patrol base in Khiam, south Lebanon.

Cynthia Wadsworth, widow of Canadian OGL Peacekeeper, Major Paeta Hess-von Kreudener, lays a wreath to mark the ten year anniversary when four OGL Peacekeepers were killed in Khiam, during the 2006 war. Khiam, south Lebanon.

United Nations Truce Supervisory Organization (UNTSO) Force Commander, Major-General David Gawn, chants a Maori song that remembers fallen warriors during his speech commemorating the four fallen peacekeepers in a ceremony held where the Patrol Base was located, south Lebanon, Khiam.

Retired Observer Group Lebanon (OGL) Peacekeepers from all over the world reunited in Khiam, south Lebanon in a moving ceremony to mark the day, 10 years ago, when four OGL peacekeepers were killed in an Israeli air strike during the 2006 war, Khiam, south Lebanon.

Tore Rosseld from Norway (left) and Michael Iseli from Switzerland (right) former members of the OGL team present during 2006 Lebanon War. Ten years to the day they check an operational map as they recall the circumstances when 4 OGL peacekeepers were killed in Khiam.

A somber mood as a former Observer Group Lebanon (OGL) Peacekeeper remembers his four fellow peacekeepers killed ten years ago in this exact location by Israeli Air Force aerial bombs.

Retired Observer Group Lebanon (OGL) Peacekeeper, Captain Michael Iseli from Switzerland, comforts retired Lt. Colonel and former OGL Chief, Rols Kullberg from Finland, as they hold a moment of silence at the precise location where 10 years ago 4 OGL peacekeepers were killed in an Israeli air strike during the 2006 war, Khiam, south Lebanon.

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26 Jul 2016

Ten years on: remembering fallen Peacekeepers

Major General Arthur David Gawn, Head of Mission and Chief of Staff of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO, began his speech with a Maori chant. The song recounted the memory of lost warriors and its poignancy enveloped the assembled crowd.

On the memorial stone before them were four separate plaques with the face and name of each of the four peacekeepers who lost their lives that fateful day during the 2006 Lebanon war. They are: Major Hans-Peter Lang (Austria), Major Paeta Derek Hess-von Kruedener (Canada), Lieutenant Senior Grade Jarno Mäkinen (Finland) and Lieutenant Colonel Du Zhaoyu (China).

Ten years ago, on the 25 July 2006, four unarmed peacekeepers from Observer Group Lebanon (OGL) were killed in action in Khiam, south Lebanon, as a result of Israeli artillery shelling and aerial bombs that hit their patrol base.

A decade later their OGL colleagues from that time and their family members travelled from as far away as New Zealand, Argentina and Canada to pay their respects at the site where the four lost their lives. It was a bittersweet reunion as old friends hugged one another and honored those they had lost.

Michael Iseli, a former OGL Peacekeeper said, “What has really taken me aback is the former colleagues, the people we served with, that made such efforts to be here today. I would never have expected that. And it only shows what a bond we had, and how much the four people we lost, our four friends, were actually loved and appreciated.”

Cynthia Wadsworth, the widow of Canadian OGL Peacekeeper, Major Paeta Hess-von Kreudener, was also moved by the events of the day, “This was an amazing ceremony. It’s a monument to my husband and to the three others that he served with, Jarno, Du and Hans-Peter, and I have to be here.”

Kevin McDonald, an Irish Peacekeeper who was serving with OGL at the time, ended his speech saying, “In this hallowed ground, where international blood was spilled and mixed with Lebanese blood, where too many people have paid the ultimate sacrifice. I ask you all, as the sun goes down over El Khiam to remember the realities of war, the realities of serving in the just cause of peace and why it is important that men and women continue to do so.”

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Article: Aoibheann O'Sullivan
Video Editor: Aoibheann O'Sullivan
Video Camera: Aoibheann O'Sullivan
Photo: Pascual Gorriz Marcos
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