Death of a Peacemaker

With the courage of youth,

and in the company of his mates

he moved forward as the lead scout

to form a ring of steel

between the oppressed people

of East Timor and banditry

loyal only to the violence

of the parang,

- and the politics of the machine gun.

At twenty four years of age,

he was under no illusions

as to the dangers he faced

when he placed himself in harms way

and probed silently forward

to keep his fated appointment,

- with death and destiny.

Ambushed and caught in the killing zone,

he was unaccounted for

in the confusion of sustained

and overwhelming heavy fire,

reported as 'missing' only later,

- after the "Re-Org".

During the Company sweep,

his mates found him

dead where he lay

in the heat of an Asian afternoon

weapon missing, ammo missing,

and body disfigured,

- in the age old way.

And so in death,

he journeyed back

that sad and cold

New Zealand winter's day

to the lush green fields

of his Waikato home

and the quiet streets,

- of small town Te Kauwhata.

And tributes came,

and tributes glowed

as the politicians spoke

but the tears that flowed

from his mates that day

as they bore him shoulder high,

said more than all the gallant words

- as his cortege passed me by.

To the warriors chant,

and the Kuia's cry!

they slow marched through the town

and beat the drum with a solemn tone

as the left boot struck the ground,

they bore the broken body

of Private Manning upon high

to the wailing of the Kuia,

- and the tears as soldiers cried.

His Tour of Duty's over,

and his body's laid to rest

he sleeps the sleep

of stolen youth

in the soft sweet soil

of a warriors grave,

- and the Rangiriri earth.

©Mike Subritzky

2000

A Tribute To The Memory Of

LEONARD WILLIAM MANNING

A997234 PRIVATE

Bravo Company, 2/1 Battalion

Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment

Date Of Birth ~15 August 1975 . Killed In Action ~ 24 July 2000

United Nations Forces

East Timor

(Len Manning was in the same preparation Company as my own son and they were friends. At the final medical prior to overseas deployment my son was medically downgraded due to a rash. Len and the rest of the Company went on to serve on Operations in East Timor. He was Killed In Action a very short time later. My wife and I, along with many other Military parents attended Leonard's funeral and mourned with his parents Linda and Charlie).