The taxi ride was my first time on the left hand side of the road in a right-hand drive car. This felt a bit better to me than my experience with RSM Springer in his American left-hand drive car. As we wove our way through the Monday morning traffic, the left-side driving began to make some sense to me. But as we approached the intersection of two four-lane roads, turning right across traffic---all my reactions were upside down. Good thing that I wasn’t driving!
As I was paying the driver, (with Rhodesian currency this morning!), he gave me a tip for driving on the left: "Always keep yourself as the driver the near the center of the road." This tip works! It even works when you come back to the States and need to readjust to driving on the right again.
[No extra charge for this driving tip. Consider it an added benefit of reading my blog!]
The recruiting office was on the fifth floor of a downtown office building. I guess the only difference between the recruiting office and any other business would be the Army posters on the walls and the personnel behind the desks wearing uniforms.
Major Lamprecht rose to greet me as I entered. I introduced myself and handed him the packet of information that Roy Hurst had given me in Houston. I had filled out all the personal information and included all the documentation he needed (birth certificate, marriage license, etc).
I don’t remember the details of our conversation, but we began with a discussion of my motivation for coming to Rhodesia saying:
I really believe that the struggle of the Rhodesian people is my struggle. I missed the war in Vietnam, but that struggle against a Communist insurgency was similar to the insurgency that I believe is going on here. Terrorists are attacking soft targets: rural villages, stores and medical clinics. They rob buses filled with unarmed African civilians, often shooting the driver, raping the women even bayoneting babies. They torture and kill village leaders who have any contact with the government. And when the Rhodesian security forces show up, the terrorists scatter in all directions, casting aside weapons and uniforms, seeking to hide themselves among the very population they terrorize.
I also understand that Rhodesia has 96% of the world’s strategic-grade chromium. So, for me, defending Rhodesia is defending America’s ability to develop high-grade weapon systems.
I also understand that this is not a race war as it has been portrayed by the world press and even my our own UN Ambassador, Andrew Young who seems to have President Carter’s ear. I know that Rhodesians, both black and white are fighting together to defeat the threat of Communist terrorists led by Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo.
I have been here less than 24 hours, but have already seen how black and white interact peacefully. One thing that my wife noticed is that the blacks here do not seem angry or tense. She has remarked at the amicable interaction between black and white here. Everyone seems to get along without any undercurrent of racism.
I just couldn’t sit around in the prosperity of America while Rhodesians, both black and white fought, often to the death, to stop the spread of world Communism. As a born-again Christian, I know that the Gospel can spread most effectively in a free society. I also know from history that no freedom is ever won without sacrifice on the battlefield, indeed all freedom comes only through military victory. The politicians may squander that freedom, but it is the military that always wins it back.
I want to be a part of Rhodesia’s military victory that will lead to even greater freedom for black and white.
[This reflects my thinking at the time as a 27 year old. Obviously, the situation was not as cut and dry as I thought. And, just as obviously my feelings about Rhodesia, the war, the politics and the people there would evolve as I grew in knowledge and experience. Please hang in there with me as I tell the rest of the story over the coming months.]
Major Lamprecht seemed satisfied with my motivation. We moved on to the subject of my training. I was to start with 18 weeks of basic commando training at Cranborne Barracks, the home of the Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI). Assuming all went well, I would continue on to Officer Training School and finally to the SAS Selection Course. If I passed SAS Selection, I would be posted as a Second Lieutenant (pronounced “leftenant”) to Squadron “C”, Rhodesia Special Air Service. The whole course of training would take about a year, but I would see action as soon as I completed my training at RLI.
The links for this blog are short documentaries on SAS, RLI and other branches of the security forces: the black volunteers of the Rhodesian African Rifles (RAR), Selous Scouts composed of black and white Rhodesians, Grey's Scouts-horse cavalry, the Rhodesian Air Force, and the Rhodesia Regiment among others. The film and sound quality on the few clips that exist. Since they document a virtually unknown piece of world history, I highly recommend their viewing. These were gallant soldiers, black and white, defending their homes and their way of life.
Finishing up our interview, Major Lamprecht took the receipt from our airline tickets for reimbursement. He asked me to drop off our passports to get our residence permits. Finally, he welcomed me to the Rhodesian Army, saying that it would be about three-four weeks before my training would begin. He suggested that we find a place to stay quickly and spend the next few weeks touring Rhodesia—finally having that long-delayed honeymoon.
I commented that I had some work to get in shape since Salisbury was several thousand feet above sea level. He smiled and made a remark that I misunderstood with the British clip of his accent.
I thought I heard, “Well, you look fat!”
I responded that I needed to lose a few pounds from traveling. Then I realized that he had said that I looked “fit” meaning “in good shape.”
I really was feeling guilty about that breakfast!
We both chuckled when we realized the confusion. I thanked him and wandered out, a little humiliated by my own idiotic guilt. I was with people who were fighting for the survival of their way of life. I was still thinking about breakfast like a typical tourist!
Next: A Rhodesian “Rebel” I loved.
I have a clear memory of the day I went to the recruiting office in Salisbury and met Major Lamprecht. I signed on the dotted line and was sent straight out to RLI barracks because the next course (152) was beginning in two days. There I met SGT Mjr (Moose) Erasmus for the first time. The next five months were a highlight of my life. I was eventually posted to Two Commando after my passing out parade.
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