COURTESY U.S. ARMY
Army 1st Lt. Andrew Rose spoke last week with Richard "Dickie" Nelson III, the governor's liaison officer to West Hawaii, during a tour of sites in Bosnia.
City Councilwoman Darrlyn Bunda said "it was very sobering to see what has gone on" in Bosnia to visit areas where Hawaii soldiers are serving a six-month tour as peacekeepers. Isle leaders visit
troops in BosniaPeacekeepers from Hawaii host
a tour of sites in war-torn citiesBy Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.comBunda noted that one of the most emotional moments of her visit was the tour of the war-torn city of Srebrenica.
Srebrenica, the world's first U.N. Safe Area, was the site of the worst case of genocide in Europe since World War II. In July 1995 the Bosnian Serb army staged a brutal takeover of the small, intimate spa town and its surrounding region. Over a period of five days, the Bosnian Serb soldiers separated Muslim families and systematically killed more than 7,000 men and boys in fields, schools and warehouses.
Bunda said "the trip showed me the importance of having multinational personnel handling situations like these."
Bunda and eight other local civic leaders were the guests of the Army from July 24 through Sunday and toured Bosnia and Herzegovina, where more than 1,000 soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division and the Hawaii Army Reserve's 9th Regional Support Command are members of Task Force Eagle.
The soldiers left Oahu in March and are expected home in October.
Christina Kemmer, civilian aide to the secretary of the Army for the state of Hawaii for the past three years, added, "It was a powerful experience."
She said that watching the soldiers interact in the community had a huge impact on her, and that the peacekeepers play an important role in Bosnia's future.
"It's appropriate that the 25th is here," she said. "Soldiers from Hawaii have the experience of living with diversity. Having a multicultural background helps them to interface and integrate better than other groups, I believe."
Kemmer, who is executive vice president for Communications Pacific, said the trip put a face of reality on the continued need for the Army and soldiers here to have areas where they can fire their weapons and hold combined arms training.
During their five days in the Balkans, the group toured Eagle Base and Forward Operating Base Connor where the Schofield Barracks and Fort Shafter soldiers are based. The civilians also accompanied Tropic Lightning soldiers on peacekeeping patrols.
Group members were paired with soldiers from Hawaii. Bunda, whose Council district includes Schofield Barracks and Wheeler Army Airfield, said her "ranger buddy" helped her learn about the mission from a soldier's perspective.
"We also were given an aerial tour of the countryside by a Black Hawk helicopter," Bunda added.
Other members of the group were John B. Ray, president of the Waimea Community Association and the Hawaii Leeward Planning Conference; Richard C. "Dickie" Nelson III, the governor's liaison officer to West Hawaii; Peter T. Young, deputy managing director for Hawaii County; Albert Silva, chairman of the Waianae Neighborhood Board; Cynthia K.L. Rezentes, former chairwoman of the Waianae Neighborhood Board; Phoebe Saucerman, president of the Waianae Military Civilian Advisory Council; and retired Army Maj. Jerry Headley, president of 3/4 Cavalry Chapter, 25th Infantry Division Association.
