Tears farewell first contingent

By Eugene Bingham

Little Kieran Moran may not have known why, but the tears of anguish proved he knew what was going on at the Ohakea Air Base yesterday: Daddy was going away.

While the nation's leaders spoke of the noble mission his father, Corporal Shaun Moran, was about to embark upon, things seemed much simpler through a 2-year-old's eyes.

"It's amazing what kids take in," said his mother, Jane Moran. "He wasn't quite sure what was going on but he knew Dad was leaving."

Prime Minister Jenny Shipley and military leaders told the 88 soldiers bound for East Timor that they were embarking on a noble mission as the advance guard of up to 800 New Zealand soldiers being sent to bring peace to a land terrorised by militiamen.

But there was no consoling young Kieran as Corporal Moran marched across the tarmac at the base near Palmerston North, a gun in his arms where he had cradled his son minutes earlier.

Mrs Moran said her husband had been on a peacekeeping mission to Bosnia, but this time it seemed much harder on the family. "They are going into a more volatile situation. Our circumstances are different as well - this time we've got Kieran.

"It will be nice to have him around, though. Kind of like having a little piece of Shaun to hold on to each day."

Like all of the family members, Mrs Moran's eyes were red.

This first contingent of soldiers will be away nine months. But it was not simply the prospect of not seeing loved ones for so long that caused the tears.

Lurking in the back of everyone's mind was the possibility some might not come back at all - a possibility openly expressed by Mrs Shipley last week when she committed the troops to the United Nations force.

Yesterday she told them: "I wish the world were a more perfect place, where dangerous operations like your mission were not necessary."

Standing nearby listening closely was Corporal Renata Taru, clutching his baby, Cade. A picture of gentleness, he fed the 2-month-old a bottle and rocked him to sleep.

Then the warrior emerged. Handing Cade over to his mother, Corporal Taru joined his company in a fearsome haka, a precursor to the battles they may face in the towns and jungles of East Timor.

Minutes later, the soldiers stood in awed silence as the Linton Army Camp's cultural group, Te Roopu Kapa Haka O Kairanga, paid tribute to their departing colleagues with a haka.

Soon, it was time for final farewells.

Wives kissed husbands goodbye, and 11 servicewomen kissed their men goodbye, too.

Among them was Captain Ruth Putze, who was leaving her husband, Lieutenant Justin Putze, behind.