An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir Dec 2014/Jan 2015 www.dfmagazine.ie 16 | unIFIl Reunion 2014 REPoRt AnD PhotoS by SGT CON LEIGH, E COy, 1 CN COIS O n Saturday 18th october a united nations Interim Force in lebanon (unIFIl) reunion, organised by Dutch unIFIl veterans, was held at the national Military Museum in Soesterberg, netherlands. two members of the Irish unIFIl Association (IuA), Chair- man CQMS larry Dorgan (retd), who served with 11 Inf bn, and Secretary Con leigh, E Coy, 1 Cn Cois, travelled to this highly celebrated event to represent the association. The day started with a train jour- ney from Den Haag to a town called Amersfoort just south of Utrecht – with train tickets free to veterans on the day. There were coaches laid on to take all veterans from the station to Soesterberg, about 3km away. The reunion was attended by in excess of 2,500 veterans. On arrival it was obvious that this was going to be a huge event as the layout was impressive, with marquees, displays and stands filling the arena, and a range of military vehicles lined up beside the museum. The dress for the initial meet-and-greet was casual, but most veterans proudly wore their blue berets. In January 1979 the Dutch govern- ment received a request for soldiers to serve in the UNIFIL mission and between 25th February 1979 and 6th November 1985 approximately 9,084 Dutch peacekeepers served in Lebanon in their country's first major peace- keeping mission. The centrepiece of the event was a memorial service for the nine Dutch peacekeepers who gave their lives in the service of peace in Lebanon. This comprised of a minutes silence fol- lowed by the Dutch national anthem and some short speeches. Outside the main marquee there was also plenty of activities taking place, including rides in APCs, jeeps, etc. The museum was an ideal setting and is now expected to be the location for most of the Netherlands' national military events in the future. The rest of the day was spent looking at the exhibits, meeting old friends and making new contacts, and of course fin- ished with a good chat over a few beers. Overall the Dutch and Irish seem to have a great respect for each other, stemming from our days together in South Lebanon and we have carried on that friendship to this day. The IUA are twinned with the Dutch UNIFIL Vet- erans and both groups have attended ceremonies in Den Haag, for National Veterans Day, and Wageningen, for Liberation Day, since 2005. The IUA is a strictly meet-and-greet group which came together to keep alive the memories and friendship formed in Lebanon over the years. We are also twinned with the Nor- weigan UNIFIL Association and have attended their tattoos in 2008 and 2010, where our group had the hon- our of being introduced to King Har- old V and Queen Sonja at Akershus Castle in Oslo in 2008. On that oc- casion we were also presented with the 30-year jubilee medal from the mayor of Ebel Es Saqi to commemo- rate our service with UNIFIL. We also have contacts with Canadian and French UNIFIL associations, the Royal British Legion and the American Legion. We continue to visit Lebanon, and in 2005 and 2007 helped with do- nations to the orphanage in Tibine and Shaqra school. For information on association membership and events, we can be contacted through Facebook - Irish UNIFIL Association Group - or by email: iua46leb@gmail.com.

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