MACHANG: A small group of the army's Special Forces soldiers, known as the "Green Berets", described how their sacrifices in fighting against communist terrorists paid off after the country got its independence.
Among those who faced off against the terrorists and were intrepidly involved in jungle warfare to scouting were three close friends - Second warrant officer Mohamad Nor Latif, 75; Sergeant Salam Jaafar, 68, and Lt Col Yaakob Jaafar, 66.
The three were among those who had joined several missions under the Malaysian Army's elite commando unit known as the "Regimen Gerak Khas".
Recalling his most terrifying experience, Mohamad Nor said he vividly recalled an incident which happened in Kedah.
"If I'm not mistaken, it occurred in 1976 in a jungle in Kedah. There were about 30 of us involved in a mission called 'Op Gubir 1'.
"We were fast asleep deep in the jungle at the time when suddenly one of us realised that we had slept near some booby traps.
"At that time, l was aged 23 and holding the rank of Corporal and entrusted to lead the group to safety. Realising that my comrades' lives were in my hands, l began to search for the booby traps by walking step by step with the others following closely.
"I had to do this carefully so that the booby traps would not explode. We walked about 100m from the place where we had slept and it took us around two hours until we reached a safe place," he said.
The father of eight, who joined the force when he was 18, said they managed to discover a few booby traps each the size of a Milo can. Mohamad Nor, who retired in 1988, said he was relieved that they escaped with no injuries.
Salam said he could not forget an incident where he mistakenly shot a fellow commando during a mission in 1983.
"The incident remains with me until today. Apart from that, losing a few friends in operations against the terrorists still remains a sad memory for me," said the father of six who retired in 1999.
Yaakob said the "Green Berets" soldiers had several close shaves with death before the country gained its independence.
"I have lost 17 friends. My squad was once ambushed by more 200 communists but this never weakened our resolve even at that time.
"We continued to fight and did not mind if we lost our lives in the war because our goal was to ensure our country was free of the threat from the terrorists.
"We hope that the younger generation appreciates our sacrifices and help take care of the country so that peace can be maintained," said the father of five.