Combat Medic: An eyewitness account of the Kibeho Massacre

by Terry Pickard

On the 22nd of April 1995 more than 4,000 Rwandans were massacred and thousands more injured in a place called Kibeho. Terry Pickard, a seasoned soldier and medic, was one of a 32-strong force of UN peacekeepers in Kibeho on that terrible Saturday. While the United Nations’ presence prevented the death toll from being even worse than it was, the massacre continues to haunt him.The rules of engagement that stopped him fromintervening in the senseless slaughter and the life anddeath decisions he was forced to make when dealingwith the injured condemned him to more than a decade of recurring nightmares and debilitating flashbacks.The horror and unimaginable tragedy of the KibehoMassacre still looms large in the lives of Rwandans andthe people sent to help the African country. No one who walked away from that day was ever the same again.Combat Medic is a personal account of one soldier who found himself at the centre of events thatshocked the world, and the personal toll that he paid.Terry Pickard’s army career spanned nearly 20 years.More than 15 years after Rwanda he continues tostruggle with post traumatic stress triggered by hisexperiences.In 2005 those who served in Rwanda and the UNpeacekeeping mission were informed that their servicehad been upgraded to “warlike’’. Very few of them hadever doubted it.

Genres: Military Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published May 2, 2010

Reviews

[Kt · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️

When experienced Australian solider and medic Terry Pickard was deployed to Rwanda in 1995 as part of a United Nations peace keeping mission, he wasn’t expecting an easy ride. What he never could have foreseen though was that he and the thirty one other Australian soldiers he was with, would witness a massacre at the hands of the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA). Over a single day, over four thousand people would be murdered and thousands more injured by the RPA in what would become known as the Kibeho Massacre.

Avoiding the RPA and getting out of Kibeho alive was just the first step for Pickard. What followed next as he returned to Australia was a chain of events that would see him lose his marriage, his mental health and ultimately his career as the institution gave his all for treated him woefully.

Combat Medic is Pickard’s reflection on his time in the Australian Army and its aftermath and it’s an utterly compelling read that packs a punch.

Be aware that this is a very graphic and frankly written book. The scenes in Rwanda don’t hold back and there is a lot of real life blood and gore that may be disturbing to some. Similarly, some of the photos in the book are graphic; but printing them in black and white gives them a different and a more poignant perspective.

Combat Medic was an insightful and eye opening read. It’s brutally honest, yet directly vulnerable. It’s a story of nightmares, but also one of hope and resilience. It will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions and give you incredible insight into the service men and women that have to see and do the unthinkable in the worst places on earth, so that the rest of us can live in freedom; only then to chew them up and spit them out when they fall to pieces keeping us safe.

I have read some amazing military memoirs and Combat Medic is no exception. It’s a book that everyone should read (noting trigger warnings regarding genocide, murder, graphic injury descriptions, PTSD and alcoholism) and which I cannot recommend highly enough. Thank you so much Terry for having the courage to share your story with us.

Combat Medic is my 18th read in #ktbookbingo, category ‘Memoir/Biography’. To play along with my book bingo and to see what else I’m reading, go to #ktbookbingo or @kt_elder on Instagram.