An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 35 and strength of Katangan forces in Jadotvillle. As a re- sult Comdt Quinlan ordered all his troops to dig trench- es and camouflage them as quickly as possible. Consequently, when the attack came on September 13th we were well pre- pared. If we hadn't been dug-in the heavy machine- gun fire, mortars and bombing by the Katangan's Fouga jet would have caused many fatalities: luckily we had only six soldiers wounded. The members of A Coy were subsequently taken prisoner. Having been dismissed from his job Kearney made his way to the Irish bat- talion HQ in Elizabethville where he offered his services, which were readily accepted. He led a party of three officers, Captains Mark Carroll, Terry Mc- Nulty and Mick Purfield, into the city to recce the area around the Katangan HQ at Camp Massard, where A Coy were being held. Unfortunately they were captured and interrogated, locked in a cell and sentenced to be shot. However, they were eventually incarcerated with A Coy and held as hostages for four weeks in Kolwezi, until all were freed. Charles continued to work for the UN and was involved in restoring the road to Jadotville when Indian and Irish UN forces finally ended Katangan secession in 1964. A highly complimentary letter from U Thant, Sec Gen of the UN, praised him for his devotion to the cause of the UN over and above the normal call of duty, saying that this had earned Charles Kearney the highest esteem of his colleagues and the gratitude of the United Nations. Speaking of how Charles had worked in the emergency operation to re- store bridges on the Jadotville road, regardless of the risk to himself, U Thant said: "It should be of considerable gratification to know that your ready re- sponse to a critical situation helped greatly in restoring communications and so enabled ONUC troops to pursue their objectives with minimum delay." After his time in the Congo Charles moved to zambia where he met and married the love of his life, Judy, who was a nurse at Kitwe General Hospi- tal. They set up business in Lion Kop and ran a successful safari lodge near Victoria Falls that was visited by the president of zambia Kenneth Kaunda. Charles died and was buried in zambia last year. At his funeral a UN flag and beret donated by McKee Bks were placed on his coffin and the Irish flag was flown. He is survived by his wife Judy, who now lives in Wexford, and daughter Roslyn Mary and son Charles James who run the family business. Comdt Liam Donnelly (retd), who also served as a platoon commander with A Coy, and I arranged to meet Judy Kearney in Dublin recently and it was a memorable occasion as we shared stories of our time in Katanga and I presented Judy with a DVD film by Movietone News of Charles as a prisoner at Camp Massard and on his release from Kolwezi after being held by the Katangans. While Charles never received any official recognition at home for his heroic and patriotic actions (actions that cost him his job, and very nearly his life, as he risked all to protect his fellow Irishmen in a far off country), his family can rest assured that the veterans of A Company will always remem- ber the outstanding bravery of Charles Kearney. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam. united Nations Operation in the Congo (ONuC) (July 1960 – June 1964) ONuC was established by Security Council resolution 143 (1960) on 14th July 1960 to en- sure the withdrawal of Belgian forces, to as- sist the Government in maintaining law and order and to provide technical assistance. The function of ONUC was subsequently modified to include maintaining the territo- rial integrity and political independence of the Congo, preventing the occurrence of civil war and securing the removal of all foreign military, paramilitary and advisory person- nel not under the United Nations Command, and all mercenaries. In February 1963, after Katanga had been reintegrated into the national territory of the Congo, a phasing out of the Force was begun, aimed at its termination by the end of that year. At the request of the Congolese Government, however, the General Assembly authorized the stay of a reduced number of troops for a further six months. The Force was completely withdrawn by 30 June 1964. Strength: Maximum (July 1961) 19,828 all ranks, supported by international civilian and locally recruited staff. At withdrawal (30 December 1963) 5,871 all ranks, sup- ported by international civilian and locally recruited staff. Military Contributors: Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Burma, Canada, Ceylon, Denmark, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Liberia, Malaya, Federa- tion of Mali, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Sweden, Tunisia, United Arab Repub- lic and yugoslavia. [From February 1963 to the end of the operation, a battalion of the Congolese National Army was incorporated in ONUC]. Fatalities: 245 military personnel and 5 international civilian staff = Total 250 www.un.org/Depts/DPKO/Missions/onuc.htm This article was previously published in the Wexford People and the New Ross Standard, in July 2013.

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