Linda Mannings Reply

New Zealand
31st August 2000

Company Sergeant Major Phil Burgess

We knew that Leonard loved being a soldier and was very pleased to be selected for Timor. He so wanted to make a difference for the East Timorese people and was very interested in the history of what they had been through over there. It is interesting that the Indonesians invaded East Timor near the end of 1975, which was when Leonard was born. From a very early age he was very interested in all things military and it was a foregone conclusion that he would one day join the army. Even as a 3 year old he seemed to be "a man on a mission" and would grab up his "kit" and quickly race off on his tricycle to sort out some imaginary emergency. Funnily enough he was never an aggressive boy. In fact he was quite the opposite as a child, but even so was always ready to defend the underdog or take the unfortunate misfit at school under his wing.

We could certainly tell from his letters and phone calls home from East Timor that he was totally focused and thoroughly enjoying the task at hand. He wrote about how positive and resilient the people were and about the smiling faces of the children. He also mentioned that the conditions were not exactly pleasant and that he was feeling tired but that there was a job to do and that the guys were getting on with it.

Leonard had quite a hard time at school because even though he was very intelligent, he was dyslexic and had a great deal of trouble with writing and spelling. He was also often the butt of jokes because of his lack of co-ordination out on the playing field, but boy did he have the "gift of the gab" and his impersonations were quite something. He always made the best of whatever situation he was in and just seemed to have a natural ability to endure hardship. As he matured he overcame these difficulties and had so much more succeeding to do, as his confidence in himself grew. He told us that when times were tough during army training exercises he used to just make himself see the funny side of whatever it was he had to get through. He found that this was so much more energy conserving than allowing himself to become too frustrated or angry. He was also blessed with an absolute determination to achieve those things that were important to him. Of course as his parents this sometimes caused us a little frustration when he was younger as we didn't always see eye to eye about just which things were most important.

As an adult Leonard had become our friend and confidante. We have always been a close and loving family. He and his sister, Laura, were the best of buddies even though they had their times of childhood squabbles. Once they had both left home and didn't see each other so often they thoroughly enjoyed the times when they were both at home at the same time. They would often go to a movie or into town together and had long "catching up" conversations. They were very close and so proud of each other. We are so very glad that she fell in love and married Michael before she was to lose her adored big brother.

We all miss him terribly and always will, but he would not want us to ruin our lives grieving his loss. He chose to join the army and he knew that his life could be at risk one day. It was certainly not in his plan to get himself murdered doing his best to improve the lives of the unfortunate Timorese people. There was so much more that he had planned to do with his life. His death has changed us forever, but our lives will go on and we will honour his memory by living each day to it's fullest.

His Section Commander Nick Marfell had told us something of the way in which you found him. He also told us that you are not a religious man but that you were very concerned that we should know about the way you saw him just as night was falling and you were becoming anxious about him being out there alone and possibly needing help. I would like you to know about the events of the evening of July 24th as they unfolded here in New Zealand.

Charlie & I were just finishing dinner around 7pm when there was a knock at the door. There is a glass panel beside our front door and when Charlie saw someone in army uniform standing outside for an instant he thought that somehow Leonard had been given his 10 days leave early and had decided to surprise us with a visit home. If only!

As soon we saw that this man was a stranger and a Captain we knew that he had something very bad to tell us. (Capt. Roger Earp does slightly resemble our son) He introduced himself to us and after establishing that we were the parents of Private Leonard William Manning he told us that he had some bad news for us. He asked us to sit down then said that Leonard's section had come into contact with a group of people who were probably Militia. There had been an exchange of fire. Leonard's section had retreated to a safe place and it was then that they discovered that he was missing. Roger was very honest with us but also very polite and gentle in his manner. He told us that the area was now being cordoned off by our troops so that no one would be able to move in or out, and that when that was accomplished they would begin to sweep the area until they found him. He explained that it was a large area and the terrain was very steep, so it was taking some time for all of this to take place. We were aware of the approximately 4-hour time difference so we knew that it would soon be evening in Timor.

We phoned our daughter Laura and her husband Mike to tell them the news and they immediately left their place to be with us. (They live about an hour and a half away). We then phoned friends who know how to pray, including Pastors Dave and Jill Moore. We asked them to pray specifically that he would be found safe and well before dark. We also informed Leonard's extended family of the situation.

Leonard, even as a 16 year old, had excellent skills in the bush, and we were very hopeful that even if he had been wounded he would have a good chance of surviving if his mates could get to him quickly enough. He knew how to take care of himself and was very good at hiding quietly for many hours. Our most awful fear, that we tried not to think about, was that they might have taken him prisoner.

Roger told us that he intended to stay close by as he was in touch by cell-phone with Defence Headquarters in Wellington and would be able to tell us as soon as there was some news. Roger, not having met us before, fully expected that we might ask him to leave. He was prepared to stay at the motel down the road if need be. As it turned out he remained very close to us for the rest of the week and performed a most difficult task with true professionalism and genuine compassion. We cannot thank him, or the army enough for the care and support that we have received.

It was a couple of hours or so before the phone call came with the news that no parent ever wants to hear. Our beloved Leonard had been found but he would be coming home in a casket and we would never hear his voice again in this lifetime. Death had apparently been mercifully quick. The rest of the week was a blurr and now incredibly it is more than a 6 weeks since July 24th.

We want to thank you for the huge effort that was made to find him so quickly. Please pass on our gratitude to all those involved. Because you guys didn't give up it meant that we didn't have to spend even one night not knowing what had happened to him. Many parents whose children go missing suffer for weeks or even years the agony of not knowing. Even though the shock of receiving that news was the worst thing we have ever had to face we are very grateful that we knew it so soon.

I have enclosed a few words written by Pastor Jill Moore that describe how she saw a picture as she prayed that ties in quite incredibly with the way that you found him. Leonard committed his life to the Lord as a boy of 8 and asked us to let him get baptised. In latter years he hasn't been much of a churchgoer but we always felt that his heart was still toward God. We believe that God honoured that childhood commitment and was there to take him safely home. We also believe that He led you to find him before nightfall and that Leonard certainly would have wanted to send you a message to find him quickly for us all. We believe that he is alive and close by l but not in the way that we so badly wanted him to be.

We have had much love and support from hundreds of people and we are taking one day at a time as we cope with the agony of his loss to us. They tell us that it will get easier and for Leonard's sake we move on positively into the future.

We are very much looking forward to the safe return of 2/1 Btn, especially Bravo Coy. and Leonard's Section. A Memorial service would be a good thing to do. I believe there will be one held in the Waikato for B. Coy. and the opportunity for them all to visit his grave. I believe that there is also a Service planned for the whole Battalion in Burnham early in December. We will attend both services and will welcome the opportunity to be with you all.

He so wanted to "make a difference". Our hope and prayer is that his life and death will make much more of a difference both here and in East Timor than he could ever have dreamed.

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