Bosnia Mission, “The Worst of them all!”

Heroes Remember

Bosnia Mission, “The Worst of them all!”

Transcript

In Bosnia, Bosnia was the worst of them all. Normally being a driver it takes just like a, probably three or four hours to get from point A to point B. Sometimes it would take us 72 hours to get from point A to point B because there was road blocks and I remember once my vehicle was stopped in front of the trench where a soldier with an RPG 40 pointed at my vehicle and there was mines in front of the other vehicles and it’s always a negotiation process so the officer would go in front or the person responsible of the convoy would go in front and they would negotiate a drive thru, you know, so that we can continue on our mission. Sometimes they would refuse, sometimes they would allow it. I was on one of the other missions also in Bosnia where I was the one responsible for the convoy. I had a vehicle there that when I approached the Serb area, the Serb stopped me and they did not want, allow me to go through because they thought I was carrying rifles and ammunition for the Croatian people on the other side. So I had to make a decision at that time should I open the doors of my truck to show them that I wasn’t doing that or should I just leave it like that. And luckily I had chosen to leave my doors closed because that would have started a scenario that every vehicle that they would stop they would be able to check inside the vehicle and by me not doing that, not allowing them it also prevented me from continuing my mission but it also prevented from any further vehicle being questioned and asked to be opened just because they were scared that we were carrying ammunition or things like that.

Description

In the words of Mr. Villeneuve, he describes his mission to Bosnia as the most dangerous and confrontational experience as driver during a negotiation process with the Bosnian army

George Villeneuve

George Villeneuve was born February 4, 1964 in Ottawa, Ontario. At 17 years of age, he made the choice to join the military and became a part of the Infantry 031, Royal 22e Regiment as part of a Recce Platoon 3rd Battalion. In 1985 he travelled to Cyprus as a driver for the Operational Service Officer. Following this tour, Mr. Villeneuve accepted tours to Bosnia and Golan Heights holding occupation as driver. After years of service, Mr. Villeneuve was medically discharged from the army with PTSD. He has accepted assistance for his condition and has welcomed Vardo - a service dog and true companion into his home. Mr. Villeneuve is enjoying life again and resides with his family in Ottawa.

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