F
Field Ethos
Guest
By Andrew Court
In the 1990s the Balkans were a hellscape.
Landmines exploded and AK fire peppered the night air. This was all-out civil war where the very fabric of society was breaking down. It was dangerous even for armed soldiers, much less civilians. In short, you had to be nuts to even think about entering this dojo.
By this standard, Danish Special Forces soldier Helge Meyer was positively insane.
Not only did he enter the war zone to bring much needed aid, he did so in style. His transportation of choice was a 1979 second-generation F Body Camaro. In stock form this was no one’s idea of a great car. Emissions restrictions had cucked the car’s 350-cubic-inch engine to just 180 horsepower. This battle Camaro, however, was anything but stock.
With the help of the U.S. Air Force, he bolted on a fast n’ furious NOS system to up the power. The body panels were filled with Kevlar to avoid bullets and the wheels with foam to avoid flats. Steel panels were installed over the hood and a locomotive-style battering ram was affixed to the front. Thanks to our flyboys he had special matte black fighter jet paint that helped avoid radar and thermal imaging. He had military-grade GPS.
Meyer spent his career in the military, training with American Green Berets and serving in Desert Storm, but this was a mission of peace. He brought much needed food and medical supplies to civilians in the conflict zone. He especially liked to deliver children’s toys and baby formula. Unarmed, all he carried was a knife and a bible, earning the nickname God’s Rambo.
While he was unarmed, he was definitely in harm’s way. Throughout the ’90s he was in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo acting out his profound religious faith. He often took small arms fire, even getting shot in the helmet. The Danish Jaeger Battalion member was unfazed, focusing on his faith and his mission.
I am going to do my best to explain the war, but to be honest it’s complicated.
The conflicts in the Balkans stemmed from the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia following the collapse of communism in 1989. Yugoslavia was a hodgepodge of different groups who didn’t get along. Rising ethnic nationalism, exacerbated by economic crises and historical grievances from World War II, fueled tensions among the Serbs (Orthodox Christians), Croats (Catholics), and Bosniaks (Muslims).
Helge Meyer — “God’s Rambo.”
Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević promoted “Greater Serbia,” while republics like Slovenia and Croatia sought independence to escape Serbian dominance. In 1991, Slovenia and Croatia declared independence, leading to a 10-day war in Slovenia and a more protracted battle in Croatia.
The deadliest phase erupted in 1992 when Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence in an election boycotted by angry ethnic Serbs. Bosnian Serb forces, supported by Serbia, launched a campaign of siege warfare, surrounding Sarajevo for nearly four years. They carried out atrocities, including mass rapes, concentration camps, and the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.
NATO airstrikes in 1995 helped force the Dayton Accords, ending the Bosnian War. Conflict extended to Kosovo in 1998–1999. Yugoslavia finally dissolved in 2006 with the independence of Montenegro. Overall, the war claimed over 140,000 lives, displaced millions, and was one final shitshow to round out an already messed up 20th century.
In his book, “Gottes Rambo,” Meyer describes what it was like in the war zone. Unfortunately, it’s not available in English, but I found a few paragraphs that demonstrate how emotionally invested the soldier was in his mission.
“Everyone was dirty and clearly malnourished, and I got soap, water, food, and baby food from my Camaro. The young mother washed herself and her child and gave the newborn something to eat. We sat around the candle silent for a while. The old man read carefully in his Koran and I in my Bible, which is my constant companion.
Then I pulled back into my car, was about to slip into my sleeping bag when someone knocked on my window. It was the young woman who put her baby on my bare chest.
I will never forget this moving moment in my life.”
Most people come to this story through the car; I know I did. I saw a picture of the kitted-out Camaro on Instagram. After reading the brief description I immediately forwarded it to Charlie Benton. He told me that Field Ethos had already discussed this story in an editorial meeting. Field Ethos meetings must be fun.
The car is indeed cool, but the real story is Meyer himself. Not many people will risk life or limb for others. Fewer still will manage to do it with his level of panache. To be honest, I wasn’t surprised to learn he was guided by faith, something that seems to be a theme in these sorts of tales.
Meyer still has the Camaro, but now it’s painted orange. In its vivid shade it serves as the chariot of a man who did his best in his continent’s hour of need.
Photos courtesy of Facebook.
The post God’s Rambo & the Ghost Camaro appeared first on Field Ethos.
Continue reading...
In the 1990s the Balkans were a hellscape.
Landmines exploded and AK fire peppered the night air. This was all-out civil war where the very fabric of society was breaking down. It was dangerous even for armed soldiers, much less civilians. In short, you had to be nuts to even think about entering this dojo.
By this standard, Danish Special Forces soldier Helge Meyer was positively insane.
Not only did he enter the war zone to bring much needed aid, he did so in style. His transportation of choice was a 1979 second-generation F Body Camaro. In stock form this was no one’s idea of a great car. Emissions restrictions had cucked the car’s 350-cubic-inch engine to just 180 horsepower. This battle Camaro, however, was anything but stock.
The Ghost Camaro
With the help of the U.S. Air Force, he bolted on a fast n’ furious NOS system to up the power. The body panels were filled with Kevlar to avoid bullets and the wheels with foam to avoid flats. Steel panels were installed over the hood and a locomotive-style battering ram was affixed to the front. Thanks to our flyboys he had special matte black fighter jet paint that helped avoid radar and thermal imaging. He had military-grade GPS.
Meyer spent his career in the military, training with American Green Berets and serving in Desert Storm, but this was a mission of peace. He brought much needed food and medical supplies to civilians in the conflict zone. He especially liked to deliver children’s toys and baby formula. Unarmed, all he carried was a knife and a bible, earning the nickname God’s Rambo.
While he was unarmed, he was definitely in harm’s way. Throughout the ’90s he was in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo acting out his profound religious faith. He often took small arms fire, even getting shot in the helmet. The Danish Jaeger Battalion member was unfazed, focusing on his faith and his mission.
The Conflict
I am going to do my best to explain the war, but to be honest it’s complicated.
The conflicts in the Balkans stemmed from the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia following the collapse of communism in 1989. Yugoslavia was a hodgepodge of different groups who didn’t get along. Rising ethnic nationalism, exacerbated by economic crises and historical grievances from World War II, fueled tensions among the Serbs (Orthodox Christians), Croats (Catholics), and Bosniaks (Muslims).
Helge Meyer — “God’s Rambo.”
Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević promoted “Greater Serbia,” while republics like Slovenia and Croatia sought independence to escape Serbian dominance. In 1991, Slovenia and Croatia declared independence, leading to a 10-day war in Slovenia and a more protracted battle in Croatia.
The deadliest phase erupted in 1992 when Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence in an election boycotted by angry ethnic Serbs. Bosnian Serb forces, supported by Serbia, launched a campaign of siege warfare, surrounding Sarajevo for nearly four years. They carried out atrocities, including mass rapes, concentration camps, and the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.
NATO airstrikes in 1995 helped force the Dayton Accords, ending the Bosnian War. Conflict extended to Kosovo in 1998–1999. Yugoslavia finally dissolved in 2006 with the independence of Montenegro. Overall, the war claimed over 140,000 lives, displaced millions, and was one final shitshow to round out an already messed up 20th century.
A Mission From God
In his book, “Gottes Rambo,” Meyer describes what it was like in the war zone. Unfortunately, it’s not available in English, but I found a few paragraphs that demonstrate how emotionally invested the soldier was in his mission.
“Everyone was dirty and clearly malnourished, and I got soap, water, food, and baby food from my Camaro. The young mother washed herself and her child and gave the newborn something to eat. We sat around the candle silent for a while. The old man read carefully in his Koran and I in my Bible, which is my constant companion.
Then I pulled back into my car, was about to slip into my sleeping bag when someone knocked on my window. It was the young woman who put her baby on my bare chest.
I will never forget this moving moment in my life.”
God’s Rambo—Helge Meyer
Most people come to this story through the car; I know I did. I saw a picture of the kitted-out Camaro on Instagram. After reading the brief description I immediately forwarded it to Charlie Benton. He told me that Field Ethos had already discussed this story in an editorial meeting. Field Ethos meetings must be fun.
The car is indeed cool, but the real story is Meyer himself. Not many people will risk life or limb for others. Fewer still will manage to do it with his level of panache. To be honest, I wasn’t surprised to learn he was guided by faith, something that seems to be a theme in these sorts of tales.
Meyer still has the Camaro, but now it’s painted orange. In its vivid shade it serves as the chariot of a man who did his best in his continent’s hour of need.
Photos courtesy of Facebook.
The post God’s Rambo & the Ghost Camaro appeared first on Field Ethos.
Continue reading...
