Later we were [advancing on Port Stanley] in what’s called a snake–you have one man walking behind another. It was night, and we had very heavy packs on. There was an explosion, a dull thud. We knew most explosions, but that one sounded peculiar. We sort of debated whether it was a grenade going off in someone’s pouch. Then there was this high-pitched screaming. I remember saying, “What the f— is a woman doing around here?” We just looked at each other; we couldn’t believe what was happening. Word came down that we were in a minefield. We froze. About 20 of us had already walked over that mine. The engineers said later that it was so cold that, basically, it had frozen. Until Mac stood on it. The mine took his leg off completely. In fact, the foot went over his head and hit another bloke in the face. He freaked out.
We just had to stay there for the engineers to come along and sort things out–and we were being mortared. But it’s that “old soldier” thing. Initially you don’t want to move a muscle. But after a while you start saying, “Well, if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen: I’m not going to stand here like a prune all day.” Eventually we sat down. In the end I think we were there for seven hours.
NAIROBI, DEC. 12, 1963:Independence hero Jomo Kenyatta called it “the happiest day of my life.” His daughterMargaret Kenyattawas there.
Everyone was waiting for midnight, for the British flag to come down and the Kenyan flag to be raised. Then it happened. The two flags met briefly halfway up the mast. Then the Kenya flag was up, and everyone was cheering and crying for joy. [My father] was overwhelmed. After so many years of struggle, he had realized his dream.
DUMPING THE CROWRhodesia Tries to Go It AloneSALISBURY, NOV. 11, 1965:Rather than accept black-majority rule,Ian Smithdeclared White Rhodesia’s independence from Britain.
It was a typically sunny Rhodesian day, and I was with my cabinet, putting the final touches on the Declaration of Independence. At about 10 o’clock, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson phoned. He asked if we couldn’t put off the declaration. I said we had been patient long enough. The British had reneged on independence. Wilson told me Rhodesia was “the model of the Commonwealth” and said Britain hoped to use us as an example for other colonies. It was probably the most dramatic moment of my life. I didn’t want to break with the Crown. No Rhodesians did, but we had no other option. Most of the [European] powers were pulling out of Africa. White people were streaming into our country with dreadful tales of people being murdered. Rhodesians were asking, are we going to allow our country to go the same way? After we declared our independence, Wilson made a speech saying that Smith was a racist who was determined to maintain white supremacy. Today the world is beginning to realize what a disaster Africa is. Every country to our north is a one-party dictatorship. Now Zimbabwe is, too.
