| Accession Number | PR00485 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Private Record |
| Record type | Collection |
| Measurement | Extent: 8 cm; Wallet/s: 3 |
| Object type | Diary, Document, Map |
| Maker |
Dittmar, James Craig |
| Place made | Lebanon |
| Date made | 1986-1989 |
| Access | Open |
| Related File This file can be copied or viewed via the Memorial’s Reading Room. | AWM371 93/0417 |
| Conflict |
Period 1980-1989 United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) 1948 - |
| Copying Provisions | Copyright expired. Copying permitted subject to physical condition. Permission for reproduction not required. |
Dittmar, James Craig (Colonel, b.1956)
Description
Collection relating to the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) service of Major (later Colonel) James Craig 'Jim' Dittmar, Lebanon, 1986-1987.
The collection consists of three wallets containing a diary, identification cards, and documents relating to Dittmar's service as a United Nations Military Observer with Observer Group Lebanon (OGL) as part of the UNTSO from March 1986 to March 1987. The collection includes monthly reports, duty rosters, maps, information circulars, and Dittmar's diary, in which he describes working with Irishbatt, Team India, patrols, medical evacuations, roadside bombs, information gathering, abductions, and frustrations with the situation in Lebanon.
Wallet 1 of 3 - Consists of a diary Dittmar maintained during his service with the UNTSO. The diary contains regular entries between 14 April 1986 and 12 March 1987. Entries during the first three weeks are brief, but become more detailed from 6 May when Dittmar was assigned to Team India, part of OGL. He writes of his movements, tasks and activities, interactions with other Military Observers and personnel assigned to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), cease fire violations, roadside bombs and assassination attempts, patrols, recreation, theft of military equipment, language barriers, of coming under fire, his frustrations, and land mine incidents.
Wallet 2 of 3 - Consists of a copy of Dittmar's above diary. The pages in the copy are interspersed by occasional newspaper articles, photographs, and UNTSO documents related to events discussed in the diary.
Wallet 3 of 3 - Consists of Dittmar's UNTSO identification cards and documents related to the UNTSO. The wallet includes monthly reports on Team India from August 1986 to February 1987, situation reports, Team India duty rosters from March and April 1986, circulars relating to staff appointments and movements, and firing close reports from January 1987. The wallet also includes a map of the Irishbatt Area of Operations, and copies of presentations Dittmar gave on the UNTSO in 1986 and 1989.