CHRISTMAS EVE IN THE CONGO, 1961

In this year's Christmas post, we remember Sven Monander, who passed away in Karlstad on 14 December 2019 following a period of illness. Sven had completed his military service at the Swedish Army Ranger School in Kiruna and had just finished his police training in 1957 when he was offered the opportunity to take part in the international peacekeeping mission in Gaza. He later served with two UN battalions in the Congo in 1961–62, where he was also wounded in combat. On Veterans Day in 2015, Sven was awarded the Swedish Armed Forces Medal for Wounded in Action for the injuries he sustained during the fighting in the Congo in 1961. Sven was 89 years old.

After his service in the Congo, Sven returned to his career in the police force, first in Kiruna and later in Värmland, where he became head of the Economic Crime Unit in Karlstad, a position he held until his retirement. In Karlstad, Sven met Jan-Eric Edström, and together they revitalised the veterans' association in Värmland. Sven frequently gave talks there about his experiences and memories from his years in the service of peace.

One of his stories began two days before Christmas Eve in 1961, when the special unit under Sven's command was assigned the task of locating and destroying the gendarmes' weapons and equipment depots. Sven recounts:

"On the morning of the day before Christmas Eve, we left Camp Massart with the entire special unit, travelling in four KP armoured personnel carriers. We began advancing along the road towards Northern Rhodesia.

After covering the estimated distance, we noticed an unexplained 'road' leading off into the surrounding terrain and decided to follow it. After approximately one kilometre, we arrived at an area containing several warehouse-like brick buildings with corrugated metal roofs."

"When we searched the storage buildings, we found that they contained military equipment, including spare parts for the types of weapons used by the gendarmes. One of the buildings appeared to be a vehicle and weapons repair workshop. We realised that we had discovered the gendarmes' maintenance and supply depot."

"The weapon parts were also compatible with weapons used by, among others, the Irish Battalion. I reported the situation to the battalion commander and requested further orders. I was given the authority to make the decision myself and suggested that the other battalions be informed and given the opportunity to collect equipment.

The reply was that the Indians and the Irish wanted to come the following morning. We therefore realised that we would have to remain at the site overnight. We organised our defences and continued preparations to destroy the entire depot the following morning. I decided that we would blow up and burn down the whole complex.

During the night, we detected movement in the surrounding terrain, but nothing happened. We established an all-round defensive perimeter, with one KP armoured personnel carrier at each corner, reinforced by warning devices and anti-personnel mines beyond the perimeter.

It was hardly a pleasant situation for a small force deep in enemy territory. I doubt that any of us got much sleep. We spent the night aboard the armoured personnel carriers."

"Early the following morning, Christmas Eve, personnel from the other battalions arrived to collect equipment and supplies. We then completed our preparations, destroyed the depot complex, and returned to Camp Massart to celebrate Christmas.

The storage buildings contained large quantities of flammable materials, which we soaked with fuel and set alight by throwing burning torches inside. In most of the buildings, the mixture of air and flammable vapours caused explosions, sending debris, including sheets of roofing metal, flying through the air."

"When we returned to Camp Massart, the Christmas celebrations, including the Christmas meal and prayers, had already ended, so those of us in the special unit missed out on both Christmas dinner and presents. However, our excellent cooks still managed to prepare a meal for us.

During our absence, the rotation between Battalions XII and XIV had been completed, meaning that old comrades had returned home and new ones had arrived. When I entered my room, I found several bottles of red wine on the table. Some of my comrades had discovered the gendarmes' wine supplies, and I regarded the wine as a token of appreciation for a job well done. And there was no more disruptive mortar fire. After all, we had taken care of the mortars. While searching the storage buildings, we had discovered four heavy mortars with fresh soil on their baseplates. This indicated that the weapons had recently been used.

The rest of Christmas night was spent by those of us in the special unit partly under the open sky, drinking red wine. The African night sky looks different from the sky back home. For one thing, we don't have the Southern Cross..."