Willow, Stanley James: my Canadian Forces recollections (March 16, 2012)

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Rank: Lieutenant Colonel. Medals and Honours: Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal; United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus Medal; United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara Medal; United Nations Protection Force Medal; United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone Medal; Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal; Canadian Forces Decoration

ABSTRACT: First I started my interview with the date and the person that I was interviewing, in this case Stanley Willow. After, I asked his permission to record the interview and I asked him to give me a basic introduction about himself and his military career. He told me that he was part of Princes Patricia Battalion as a infantry officer. He continued to tell me about the Yugoslavian war, .and his pre-deployment in Yugoslavia. Later, he talked about the several times he was fired upon. One of the strengths of the interview was the story about his encounter with Radko Mladic. After that, he told me about the Siege of Sarajevo, and the "bending" of some UN rules . On this point, he told me a story when he picked up children to take them home, even though he was not allowed to do so. Also, he told me about mine removal, and about the devastation of the city of Mostar. When I asked him about UN casualties , he told me that one of his Finnish comrades was murdered by a Nigerian soldier, factor that upset the Finish forces. He explained that life back was difficult, considering that sometimes he would feel like a stranger. The interview had to be stopped after 1 hour and 1 0 minutes, after LCol Willow's wife insisted that for his health it is better to stop there. 0:00-01:56 - Military Background, Princess Patricia Battalion 02:00-19:40 - Beginning of Yugoslavian War and pre-deployment in Yugoslavia ~ 19 :40-26:25 - Fired upon several times 26:25-30:56 - Encounter with Radko Mladic 30:56-37:31 - Sarajevo 37:32-43:35 - "Bending" the UN rules and children protection. 43:36-48:29 - Mine Removal 48:29-52:56 - City of Mostar. 52:56-54:50 -Death of a Finnish comrade 54:50-1:00:02 - Relation with civilians 1:05:00-1:10:07 - Impact of war, and life back in Canada.

An interview/narrative of Lieutenant Colonel Stanley Willow's experiences whilst serving with the United Nations Protection Force. Interview took place on March 16, 2012.

Interviewer: Ratiu, Ovidiu

Interviewee: Willow, Stanley James, b. 1958

In Collection:
Contributor Subject Language Keyword Date created Relation
  • Part of the Military Oral History Class collection of interviews.
  • Title of paper: "Canadian Forces under UN and Nato in Yugoslavia: From 'Peace Keepers' to 'Peace Makers'".
Resource type Rights statement Extent
  • 1 sound recording (MP3)
Geographic coverage Coordinates
  • 60.10867, -113.64258
  • 43.84864, 18.35644
  • 44, 19.75
Additional physical characteristics
  • Original sound recording (WMA) also available.
Physical repository Collection
  • Canadian Military Oral History Collection
Provider Genre Archival item identifier
  • WS_726
Fonds title Fonds identifier Is referenced by Date digitized
  • March 16, 2012
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 2012. 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

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file details SC141_MilitaryOralHistory_GenericThumbnail Public
file details Willow_S_0726_01.mp3 Public