Thornton, Graham: my United Nations Military Observer recollections (March 25, 2013)

Rank: Lieutenant Colonel. Medals and Honours: General Service Medal (Northern Ireland); South-West Asia Service Medal; NATO Service Medal; Canadian Forces Peacekeeping Medal; United Nations Protection Force Medal; Canadian Forces Decoration

ABSTRACT: Lieutenant Colonel Graham Thornton's interview focuses exclusively on his tour as a United Nations Military Observer in Bosnia and Croatia from July 1994-July 1995. Beginning with his military training during childhood, he goes on to recount his experiences in Bosnia and Croatia. He discusses the training and equipment he received before deployment, being taken as a hostage in Bosnia, his day to day duties gathering intelligence for military use, helping evacuate the Serbian Krajina when it was invaded by Croat forces, being caught in a fire fight, and working alongside UNMOs from multiple different nations. He describes what his group did to help refugees, what the setup and command structure of his unit was like, how he went about his job, the use of translators, and the importance of proper training for carrying out missions. He also reflects on his experiences with ethnic cleansings and other problems associated with ethnicity in the region. Finally, he covers his use of news media to get word of what was happening in Bosnia and Croatia out to the world, and discusses what living conditions were like for UNMOs deployed at the time. 0:00-Introduction 0:30-Childhood, Decision to join the army, Training 2:20-Deployment to Bosnia, reflections on length of tour 3:40-Training before and after deployment to Bosnia 7:15-Equipment 8:42-Taken hostage by Bosniaks 12:00-Role and duties of a United Nations Military Observer 13:30-Reflections on Peacekeeping vs. Peace Enforcement 19:20-Gathering Intelligence 21:40-Using intelligence and intelligence application to the Croat invasion of the Serbian Krajina 25:04-Assisting flight of Serbian refugees from Krajina 28:28-UNMOE Rules of Engagement vs. UN Rules of Engagement 29:00-Working with different nations and different experience levels 32:45-Trapped in a firefight 37:45-The "Sixth Sense" and Situational Awareness-Anecdote 40:00-Scott Grady 42:55-Other peacekeeping duties, humanitarian aid and refugee camps 45:25-Setup and command structure of unit 48:30-Regular methods of gathering information 50:10-Working with translators 54:07-Experience as a Senior UNMO during Krajina invasion 57:00-Ethnic cleansing anecdotes 59:00-Digression on nations and respective affectivity 1:01 :00-Feelings on UN peacekeeping efforts compared to NATO 1:11 :00-Reflections on ethnicities 1:15:20-Conditions in Sarajevo 1:16:00-Dealing with warring factions 1:18:00-Black Swans, Mujahedeen, other paramilitary groups 1:20:30-Ethnic hatred among civilians 1:22:40-Experiences with ethnic cleansing-Croatian air force strike, mass graves 1:27:32-Use of news media 1:31:14-Living Conditions for UNMOs 1:39:20-Weather Dangers 1:40:07-"Down Time" 1:42:00-Conclusion Suggested Clip(s) for Archive: 8:42-12:00-Taken hostage by Bosniaks 21:40-28:28-Croatian invasion of Krajina, helping refugees 40:00-42:55-Rescue of Captain Scott Grady 57:06-59:00-Ethnic cleansing anecdote: mined graveyards 1:01:00-1:11:00-Comparing UN and NATO efforts and effectiveness in Bosnia 1:22:40-1 :27:32-Experiences with ethnic cleansing

Interviewer: Reynoldson, Courtney

An interview/narrative of Graham Thornton's experiences whilst serving as a United Nations Military Observer in Bosnia and Croatia. Interview took place on March 25, 2013.

Interviewee: Thornton, Graham, 1951-

In Collection:

• Canadian Military Oral Histories

Contributor

• Reynoldson, Courtney
• Thornton, Graham, 1951-

Subject

• United Nations
• Military history
• Personal narratives--Canadian

Language

• eng

Date created

• March 25, 2013

Relation

• Part of the Military Oral History Class collection of interviews.

Resource type

• Sound

Rights statement

• In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Extent

• 1 sound recording (MP3)

Geographic coverage

• Bosnia and Herzegovina--Sarajevo
• Northern Ireland

Coordinates

• 43.84864, 18.35644
• 54.5, -6.5

Additional physical characteristics

• Original sound recording (AIFF) also available.

Physical repository

• University of Victoria (B.C.). Library

Collection

• Canadian Military Oral History Collection

Provider

• University of Victoria (B.C.). Library

Genre

• interviews
• oral histories (literary genre)
• reminiscences
• sound recordings

Archival item identifier

• TG_795

Fonds title

• Military oral history collection

Fonds identifier

• SC141

Is referenced by

• Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/military-oral-history-collection

Date digitized

• March 27, 2013

Technical note

• Digital sound recording in .mp3 format at 56 kbps and 44 kHz. Recorded in digital format by interviewer, technical and cataloguing metadata provided by JF and JP. Interview recorded in digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2013. Migration metadata by KD and MT.

Rights

• This interview has been posted with the understanding that it may be used for research purposes only. Should the interviewee or their heirs have any objections to this interview being accessible on the Internet, it will be removed promptly. Contact UVic Special Collections for permission if using for other than research purposes: speccoll@uvic.ca

DOI

•  https://doi.org/10.58066/my99-jg34

Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Visibility	Actions
	SC141_MilitaryOralHistory_GenericThumbnail		Public	Press to Select an action Download
	Thornton_G_0795_01.mp3		Public	Press to Select an action Download