Family and friends fondly remember Pierre Tendean

Family and friends fondly remember Pierre Tendean

By Fitrianti Djoni

Thirty-one years ago the now banned Indonesian Communist Party
launched an abortive coup, later known as Gerakan 30 September
(G-30-S PKI). Six generals and a lieutenant -- Lt. Gen. A. Yani,
Maj. Gen. Soeprapto, Maj. Gen. S. Parman, Maj. Gen. Haryono M.T.,
Brig. Gen. D.I. Pandjaitan, Brig. Gen. Soetoyo Siswomihardjo and
First Lt. Pierre A. Tendean -- were kidnapped and killed in
Jakarta. Each Sept. 1 Indonesians remember them and many others
who died in one of the country's most tragic periods. On this
occasion The Jakarta Post interviewed First Lt. Pierre A.
Tendean's sisters and two of his former colleagues, who recalled
the moments they spent with the young officer.

JAKARTA (JP): Had he lived, Pierre Adrie Tendean would have
been 57 years old today and possibly a general.

He might have married a smart and independent woman and
together they might have had a lot of children. Maybe.

But it would be unfair to think of Pierre in those terms, for
nothing can change the past and the fact that he died 31 years
ago.

Born in Jakarta on Feb. 21, 1939, Pierre Adrie Tendean was the
second child and only son of Dr. A.L. Tendean, from Manado, North
Sulawesi, and Mies. E. Cornell, a woman of Dutch and French
descent.

His older sister, Mitzi Farre, is a housewife, and the
youngest in the family, Rooswidiati Razak, is a public relations
manager for Medistra Hospital.

Pierre spent his youth in Magelang and Semarang. When he
finished high school he was faced with three options for further
study. His father wanted him to follow in his footsteps and
become a general practitioner. His mother had other plans for
him; she liked the idea of his taking up construction
engineering. But Pierre's heart was with the National Military
Academy.

To avoid any parental disappointment, he decided to try all
three studies at once. He took the entrance test to the Bandung
Institute of Technology and the general practitioner's test in
Semarang, but only passed the one at the National Military
Academy. In the latter choice, he was greatly influenced by Gen.
(ret.) A.H. Nasution and enjoyed the support of his sister Mitzi.

Pierre had known the Nasution family, especially Nasution's
wife, since childhood. It was Nasution himself who suggested that
he enroll in the Army's Technical Academy (formerly ATEKAD) in
Bandung. Upon graduation he was to enter the Bandung Institute of
Technology to realize his mother's dream.

After ATEKAD, he was made second lieutenant. His popularity
grew as he acquired success. He was well liked among friends, not
only because of his good looks and the easy way he associated
with people, he because he was also a very intelligent man.

During his military education, Pierre had to take part in the
military's Sapta Marga Operation in West Sumatra to destroy the
Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia, the
island's separatist movement.

After the ATEKAD course, he was made platoon commander of a
battalion of combat engineers based in Medan. A year later, he
signed up for an intelligence course.

He was then ordered to penetrate Malaysian enemy territory in
the rank of second lieutenant of the army intelligence. He was
sent to the front line in 1963, when Indonesia and Malaysia were
engaged in conflict. He entered the country as a tourist, a role
that suited him well because of his western looks.

After the job in Malaysia, which was rife with danger and
which he performed successfully, Pierre was promoted to become
adjutant to Gen. A.H. Nasution.

On April 15, 1965, when Nasution was appointed coordinating
minister of defense and security/chief commandant of the Armed
Forces, Pierre was promoted to first lieutenant. He handed over
his job as Nasution's adjutant to his successor.

Pierre was killed by palace guards known as Cakrabirawa, who
thought he was Nasution, during the 1965 abortive coup of the
Indonesian Communist Party.

"When I'm alone and look out over the garden, green with
trees, I always think of the time when we were little children.
We, Pierre and I, were very close then; Roos was still too small,
she could not play with us," said Mitzi, when The Jakarta Post
met with her at her home in Ciomas, Bogor.

"We often climbed trees, played in the rice fields and made
our rounds in the kampongs. We had just moved from Jakarta to
Cisarua at the time. We were very pleased, because the house
allotted to my father was surrounded by a huge garden. It offered
a splendid view of the mountains and rice fields. We swam in the
river, despite its murky waters, we rowed in boats and wallowed
in the mud. Pierre did not mind playing with children from the
kampong. He even joined in excursions to collect snails, a common
diet of the poor."

Pierre had since childhood displayed a tendency for strong
discipline. He shunned loud parties and was blessed with the soul
of a leader, according to Mitzi.

"He showed genuine consideration for members of his team. He
even pushed it as far as rejecting an assignment into Malaysian
territory when he discovered that the majority of the platoon had
not been sufficiently trained. "He said it would have been the
same as surrendering," Mitzi recalled.

"When a soldier fell in action, Pierre always expressed
concern for the ones who were left behind. 'Who is going to take
care of them?' he often wondered. The same applied to unknown
people who died for the country. Common men, small people, who
readily gave their life for their country. 'Will they be
awarded?' he would often ask in his letters, or when we talked on
the phone," said Mitzi, who obviously loved her brother very
much.

Pierre also hated any unfair treatment of subordinates from
superiors, like scolding them in public or embarrassing them in
any other way. He used to report instances of officer misconduct
to his boss.

He once said: "People, whoever they might be, are prone to
making mistakes. If an underling has erred, it might be best to
call him in private and have a heart-to-heart talk. We don't know
if the person made a mistake because of a problem, or because he
might not have known what to do, or anything else for that
matter.

"Sometimes I'm overcome by sadness when I think of the times
with Pierre. Why didn't he die fighting the enemy, or during the
physical clashes with colonial rulers? His own people killed him
for saving his superior. They tortured him for that," said Mitzi,
seemingly lost in thought.

"At any rate, everything has gone the way he wanted. He died a
hero, but didn't need to worry as the ones who had to leave wife
and children behind. He was still a bachelor when he died," Mitzi
added.

Pierre's younger sister, Roos Razak, admitted that she had
never been close to her brother because of the age gap. However,
she did sense his protective affection.

"Pierre was a serious person. He moved with purpose, wherever
he was, in school, sports or in any other field. He also rejected
facilities handed down from parents," said Roos, who is still a
beauty in middle age.

Pierre possessed a high sense of discipline and responsibility
for all of his actions. He was a man of few words, but he talked
about his own experience in many letters to his family, Roos
recalled.

"My memory of him is very brief. Sometime I feel like reliving
those sweet experiences, although I realize as a religious person
that it will never happen. One of the everlasting memories was of
what Pierre said to my husband when we were getting married:
'I'll leave my little sister in your hands. Take good care of
her.' That was on July 2, 1965. It was the last time we met. I
cried and Pierre held me in his arms. His wish was fulfilled. I
am still happy today," remembered Roos, clearly moved by the
memory of her brother.

"I'm very proud of Pierre. I tried to copy his nature and his
attitude and I have handed this down to my children, even though
they only know him from photographs and stories."

"Pierre Tendean was like a younger brother to me and my wife.
It is quite likely that under my influence he became a cadet
since his parents were opposed to the idea at first. He stayed
with us and was treated as one of the family."

These words were taken from chapter six of Gen. A.H.
Nasution's book In The Call Of Duty.

Sutrisno, one of the guards on duty with Pierre Tendean at the
residence of Gen. A.H. Nasution during the 1965 communist coup,
said that Pierre impressed him when they first met.

"Next to good looks, he had clear skin, he was built like an
athlete, he had a high sense of discipline and spoke in a
resolute, but wise manner. He was not in the habit of cutting
short one's speech," he told the Post in the guard room of
Nasution's residence.

His firmness was evident in the way he stepped in to stop
children of high-ranking government officials from racing in
front of the general's home, or along Jl. Teuku Umar in Menteng
area.

"He summoned their parents by letter to see him. He advised
them to look after their children and mind their behavior, the
more so if they were using office cars in their pranks," said
Sutrisno, who sometimes served as Nasution's driver.

"I often think that if Pierre Tendean were alive today, he
would have been a stern and wise high-ranking officer. He would
have protected his subordinates and taken full responsibility for
their conduct," added Sutrisno.

Maj. Gen. (ret.) Hamdan Mansyur, whose final post in the
military was chief of the regional police of East and West Nusa
Tenggara, was Nasution's adjutant when the fatal incident
happened at the general's home.

According to Hamdan, now a businessman, he had taken over from
Pierre as Nasution's adjutant and was on duty that night. Pierre
was on leave and waiting for a letter from his fiance in Medan.

"That was why he stayed at Nasution's house," said Hamdan.

It was Sept. 30 -- Pierre's mother's birthday. He had planned
to go home, but the letter from Medan had not arrived yet. So, he
decided to stay until Oct. 1.

When shots outside shook up the household, Pierre and Hamdan
were in the adjutant-cum-bedroom. Pierre was wearing a T-shirt,
Hamdan in pajamas.

"Pierre went out immediately, clutching a gun in his hands. I
changed into my uniform. When I got out of the room I saw that
Pierre had been hit and that they had caught him. Immediately, I
went back to the room," said Hamdan.

"It wasn't because I didn't want to come out. But I saw at
once several trucks packed with Cakrabirawa troops and I was on
my own. What could I have done against so many men? Plus I had no
idea of what was really happening. All I saw was that Pierre was
being lifted on to one of the trucks with soldiers sitting on
their haunches, holding their guns at the ready.

"When the consternation died down, I got out of the room and
met Mrs. Nasution. She asked me to take Ade (Adik Irma Suryani,
the Nasutions' youngest daughter) who had been hit to the
hospital and instructed me not to say anything to anyone.

"So, I was held up in the room because of my sleeping gear,
while Pierre, who was better dressed, spontaneously grabbed a gun
and ran out to meet his captors," said Hamdan.

Hamdan also shared the opinion that Pierre was a highly-
disciplined and responsible person. He was, indeed, a soldier at
heart. He did not think of his own life. On the contrary, he was
worried about the fate of the Nasution family. It was a
spontaneous act, and if he had known what it was about, he
certainly would have taken the enemy's strength into account.

"I admired Pierre very much. He was only 26 years at the time.
I was already 31 years old and married. Though I did not know him
very long, I could not fail to notice his natural tendency for
perfect discipline and a responsible attitude," said Hamdan.