Wives stand by their commando husbands for country’s security

IPOH: For wives of the police force’s commandos, the sound of an approaching police truck or a whirring helicopter would always send shivers down their spine, especially during the pre-independence and Malayan emergency era.

While some were able to breathe a sigh of relief that the sound meant their husbands had safely returned from the war against communist insurgents, some could only wail when their husbands came out of the truck or helicopter, no longer in a perfect physical condition, or worse still, in a coffin.Sharing her experience of being a wife to a Very Able Troopers (VAT 69) commando, Siti Patimah Harun (pic), 63, said that during that era, whenever her husband was involved in an operation in the jungle, she spent many sleepless nights worrying about him as communication was limited.