Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au

Aaron Bunch
Timor trip inspires ex-soldier to remember

Former soldier Kate Kilpatrick at her Brisbane home.

A former digger’s return to East Timor 20 years after Australian-led peacekeepers left has stirred her passion for Remembrance Day.

November 10, 2019

Former soldier Kate Kilpatrick was a fresh-faced private when her battalion was deployed to the chaos of East Timor following an independence referendum two decades ago.

The Australian-led international force was tasked with restoring order after a month of violent clashes drove 300,000 people from the territory.

“We saw the heartbreak of the Timorese people,” Ms Kilpatrick, now 41, told AAP on Sunday.

“But I was too young to fully understand how much the conflict would affect everyone involved.”

Memories of the peacekeeping operation flooded back during a recent journey to Dili for the 20th anniversary of the mission.

“I remember the anxious faces of refugees as they returned by ship,” she said.

“Wondering if their relatives who’d stayed behind were in the crowd, if they were okay.”

Ms Kilpatrick also learned more about the fledgling nation’s struggle and her fellow soldiers’ hard work during the military operation in 1999 and 2000.

“I realised the impact of what we did over there more than I did as a 21-year-old,” she said.

“I said: ‘wow, look how we helped these people’.”

It’s stoked the retired sergeant’s passion for Remembrance Day, which she says many people forget to observe due to their hectic lives.

“It’s about honouring the past sacrifices and those being made to this day,” she said.

“War affects many people, service personnel, their families and others.”

“It doesn’t hurt for anyone to stop for just one minute and think about that,” she said.

The RSL is calling on Australians to “remember to remember” to pause for one minute at 11am on Monday, November 11.

To reflect on the service and sacrifice of current and former servicemen and women, and the families who stand behind them.

“Everyone has very busy lives these days, it’s very fast-paced,” RSL Queensland president Tony Ferris said.

“But we wouldn’t be such a lucky country if it wasn’t for those who have served and who are currently serving.”

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