Pastor Hein Bertram arrived in Preeceville at the beginning of the year when he accepted the position as the pastor of the St. John Lutheran Church in Preeceville, but being a pastor was not his first calling. Bertram had been called up for national service in the 麻豆传媒AV African Medical Services beginning early in January 1981.
鈥淚 was called up for national service in the 麻豆传媒AV African Medical Services training unit in Potchefstroom,鈥� said Bertram. 鈥淎bout two weeks later, Sgt.-Maj. 鈥淭ickey鈥� van der Westhuizen arrived from Pretoria, to audition candidates for the band. I passed the audition, and the rest of boot camp and basic training was done in Pretoria, along with conscripted medical graduates who were the doctors.
鈥淭hey were older than the instructors, and conscientiously defended us, their prot茅g茅s, from the ubiquitous threat of the corporals,鈥� he said. 鈥淏oot camp, or basic training as we called it, was a three-month period of training during which we first underwent a medical examination.
鈥淭he medically unfit were declared unfit for duty and given a train ticket home followed by 鈥榢it issue.鈥� We were issued with uniforms, blankets, sheets, pillows and pillow cases, as well as a 鈥榮taaldak鈥� (steel helmet), webbing, and of course, the 337804, my trusty FN-FAL battle rifle that I had to return at the end of 1982.
鈥淲e were instructed in military procedures that included drill, saluting, ranks, the structure of the defence force, and related items. In musketry, we had an excellent sergeant-major, who would march along the firing line, check the target through his scope, make the soldier 鈥榤ake safe,鈥� adjust the sights, chase three rounds through the centre bull鈥檚-eye of the target, and hand the rifle back to the delighted soldier buddy aid.
鈥淲e received enough training in first aid to help a wounded buddy in the field, but nothing compared to what we were taught in Phase Two after boot camp.
鈥淩adio communications were a lot of fun, especially with me being a radio enthusiast. I had very basic military law, but enough to know what to do if I got into trouble.
鈥淭hen we got fit. The instructors who were 19-year-old corporals, did not have the 鈥榝un鈥� that their peers at Potchefstroom had. We had the doctors to protect us, and they taught us how to stand to attention, keep in step, shoulder, present and put down arms, swing arms shoulder height, change step; that kind of stuff.鈥�
Bertram recalls a humorous incident from boot camp.
鈥淲e were standing at the pissoir, and a doctor told a particularly obnoxious officer, a 鈥榦ne-pip鈥� lieutenant: 鈥楲ieutenant, I have diagnosed a condition with you.鈥�
鈥溾�榊es, trooper, and what might that be?鈥�
鈥溾�榊ou suffer from procto-heliosis, otherwise known as Mania Anus Solaris. It means that you have the delusion that the sun shines out of your rectal orifice.鈥�
鈥淭he lootie made the mistake of charging the doctor for contemptuous behaviour, and he duly appeared before the brigadier who, of course, was a medical specialist himself.
鈥淎fter ascertaining that the second lieutenant had completed Grade 12, followed by junior leaders鈥� and officers鈥� school, he determined that the private had MB and ChB (equivalent of MD), as well as a postgraduate diploma in psychology. His verdict was that the doctor was eminently qualified to make diagnoses on the march, and the second lieutenant stayed out of the doctors鈥� (and our) way from then on,鈥� said Bertram.
鈥淏oot Camp was, in one way, grossly unfair: the Seventh-Day Adventists and Jews did not have to do guard duty on Saturdays, but we Christians had to stand sentry on Sundays. But we were rookies in boot camp, so we just had to bear it. Nobody grinned. Phase two comprised a plethora of paramedical courses. I passed them all, and when the regimental sergeant-major issued our certificates, he quipped that I would have failed breastfeeding for sure, as I couldn鈥檛 lactate. I was furious, but about a month later I realized how funny that actually was.
鈥淔or the rest of my national service, I played in the band by day and worked in Baragwanath, Kalofong and Tembisa hospitals in Black townships, and in one military hospital in Pretoria in the evenings. One sad part is that I was a trumpeter, so I ended up sounding Last Post and Reveille at military funerals. From the commanding officer of one of the units, I got the nickname 鈥楤egrafniskorporaal鈥� (Funeral Corporal), as I had by then got a 鈥楾rooper鈥檚 Smile,鈥� otherwise known as a lance-corporal鈥檚 stripe,鈥�
A naval commander, whose children Bertram had babysat when he was still at school, invited him to join the navy. He underwent training as a communications and electronic warfare radio officer, and went to sea.
鈥淎t the end of March 1985, I 鈥榮wallowed the anchor,鈥� joined the 麻豆传媒AV West African Broadcasting Corporation in Windhoek, and my only military experiences were those of a 鈥榗amper,鈥� called up for three-month stints,鈥� said Bertram.
Half a year later, he was operational, having transferred to the 麻豆传媒AV African Navy.
鈥淔or the sailor it is a different kind of war, because the 鈥楤ush War鈥� was fought on land 鈥� in the bush.
鈥淏eing asked to talk about my operational experiences immediately brings up the oath of secrecy that will only lapse in 2034. 聽Early in July 1984, our ship was alongside in Simon鈥檚 Town and the executive officer made an unexpected announcement:
鈥溾�楧o you hear there, do you hear there? This ship is under sailing orders. Today is the Third of July and not the First of April. Ratings not on the duty watch are to prepare for liberty at Zero Eight Three Zero, and shall be back on board by Eleven Hours. We shall be sailing at Twelve.鈥�
鈥淲e sailed to Marion Island in the 鈥楻oaring Forties鈥� to bring back Graham Clarke, the 麻豆传媒AV African scientific team鈥檚 leader and, ironically enough, medic, who had suffered a stroke. Having trained as a medic before I joined the Navy, I was detailed to work in the sick bay.
I had seen worse seas before, but only on TV,鈥� he said.
The first tour of duty was at Walvis Bay, Namibia, which was then still a 麻豆传媒AV African enclave, where Bertram stood at the gate as a sentry, while ratings (non-commissioned officers) whom he had taught Morse Code were working inside.
A furious signal from the base commander in Pretoria ensured that all other 鈥榗amps鈥� were performed inside communications centres..
鈥淚t鈥檚 good to be a civilian. It鈥檚 good to be able to say: 鈥業 served my country.鈥� Should Canada be under threat, I鈥檒l volunteer,鈥� said Bertram.
"For a soldier shooting and getting shot at in some cases, the 鈥渁t鈥� is not there, and the soldier becomes a 鈥渃asevac,鈥� a casualty evacuee.
鈥淭he term medic comes from a quick, light-hearted memory from a military hospital. A lance-corporal was admitted to the orthopaedic ward with a broken collarbone and bruised ribs.
The ward sister, a matronly major, accosted him:
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥溾�榃ere you wearing a safety belt, son?
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥溾�楴o major, but...鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淏ut, but, if you don鈥檛 wear a safety belt and you are involved in an accident, you will be charged, as it is a self-inflicted injury.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淗is tone of voice as she paused for a moment must have had a bit of an effect.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥溾�楳ajor,鈥� he asked icily. 鈥溾�楳ay I ask you a question?鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥溾�楪o ahead,鈥� she replied.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥溾�榃here do you put a safety belt on a horse?鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e, the three medics on duty, fled from the ward, otherwise we would have been charged for laughing at an officer,鈥� he said.
鈥淢any soldiers, sailors, airmen and medics have all kinds of interesting stories to tell. But the vast majority prefer not to tell those stories. Some tell long stories, some tell tall stories.
And a long story can be told in a single sentence, calling up scenarios that can last days, or even months in one鈥檚 memory.
鈥淭ry the statement of a 19-year-old trooper, barely conscious because he needed to be kept under strong painkillers: 鈥楢ll I could find was his rifle, his hand and part of his arm.鈥� The rest was incoherent as he started crying before the sedative kicked in.
鈥淒on鈥檛 be ashamed if that short sentence fills you with pain and sadness.
鈥淐owboys don鈥檛 cry, but a soldier is not a cowboy. Go ahead and cry, buddy, it鈥檚 all right. What you鈥檒l mostly hear are the following: 鈥楳y force number, my full names, civilian.鈥� That鈥檚 all you are entitled to hear from anyone who has been operational. Please respect that, will you? 聽Not only are the veterans who were on ops under an oath of secrecy, they really don鈥檛 need to bring to the surface that which they have been trying to forget.
鈥淲anna hear some tales of action? Watch a good war movie.
"Most of it can be classed as bovine excrement, but watch for the bit where you see the older guys get up and walk out, trying not to cry. Then you鈥檒l know: 聽鈥極h, so that鈥檚 almost the way it was.鈥�
"Hundreds of young soldiers, sailors, airmen and medics got fit and learned the trade of warfare, as well as something else that they could use when it all was over, for those who came back, that is. But what about those who didn鈥檛?
"Every man, woman and child who lives in safety in a country like Canada, owes a debt of gratitude to those who put their life on the line for those at home, both those who came back, and those who didn鈥檛. "
