“Operation East Timor” Book Launch: Wed 21 Nov

Tuesday 19 November 2001

Operation East Timor is a book that tells how New Zealanders captured the hearts of the East Timorese people during constant militia threat. The story will be told with the launch of Operation East Timor at Government House on Wednesday 21 November 2001. The New Zealand Defence Force has sent 4694 service men and women to East Timor in our largest military operation in almost half a century.

Hosted by Governor General Dame Silvia Cartwright, the launch will be attended by key figures from Navy, Army and Air Force who feature in the book and will be available to talk about their experiences. An Air Force Iroquois helicopter will land on the lawn at Government House at 5:50pm reflecting the tri-service nature of the deployment.

Operation East Timor has been written by Defence Force historian John Crawford and Doctor Glyn Harper, senior lecturer in Command Studies at Massey University.

“This book shows how the assistance and openness of the Defence personnel has helped build an excellent relationship with the Timorese people,” Mr Crawford says. Operation East Timor describes how the New Zealand Defence Force captured the hearts of local Timorese people during constant militia threat. The book provides a unique account taken from personal letters, extracts from diaries, interviews, maps and over 200 photographs.
ENDS

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