An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir July/August 2018 www.dfmagazine.ie 10 | VEtERAn'S nEWS VEtERAn'S nEWS VEtERAn'S nEWS By PAuL CLARkE, 2 InF Bn ASSoCIAtIon An Bonn JADotVILLE PRESEntAtIon O n Saturday 14th April, three Jadotville medals were presented to James harper and the family repre- sentatives of Maurice Doyle and Joseph hegarty at IunVA house in Arbour hill; they were unable to attend the original presentation in Athlone in December 2017. The event was organised by 2 Inf Bn Association and IUNVA and supported by 2 FAR, 2 Cav and 28 Inf Bn As- sociations. A very impressive IUNVA Pipe Band piped the recipients into the IUNVA Monument. Musical salutes were sounded and the IUNVA Pipe Band played a lament and concluded the presentation by playing the National An- them. 2 Inf Bn Association President Brig Gen Colm Camp- bell Retd addressed the parade outlining the complexities of early peacekeeping and how a peacekeeping mission can go to a peace enforcement mission in such situations. IUNVA Post 1 led by their capable Chairman John Egan prepared for the presentation and paid attention to every detail including a reception afterwards with the impress- ible Marie leading the way as catering manageress (well done everyone!). Brig Gen Colm Campbell Retd said, "We are here to honour three of Ireland's bravest soldiers, who left these shores in 1961 as members of A Coy 35th Infantry Battalion's Peace- keeping mission to the African Congo. Little did they know what lay ahead of them especially the members of A Coy when they were tasked with provid- ing a UN presence in the Congolese Vil- lage of Jadotville." As if this presen- tation wasn't spe- cial enough having James Harper present, the person co-presenting this medal is also a Jadotville Tiger, John Gorman. John is the man who, approx. 18 years ago set out on a journey to clear the ignominious tag of coward that was so unfairly put upon their heads, this he did when, in 2005, the then Minister for Defence, Willie O'Dea acknowledged the Jadotville Veterans bravery and said that they were, "ordinary soldiers do- ing extraordinary things". In addition to all the deserved accolades being given to the Jadotville Tigers, John Gor- man was conferred on 27th April 2018 with a Distinguished Fellowship from the Athlone Institute of Technology. We offer a special mention and thanks to Eddie Crawford of 28th Inf Bn Association, for his dogged research in find- ing contacts for these heroes. The medal presented was unique in that the only people to be awarded and presented it are the men who served in Jadotville, no other person will ever be awarded this medal. An Bonn Jadotville in its description is engraved with the words "cosaint chalma and misneach" which translated means Valiant Defence and Courage. These are the nearest words describing Bravery. The word 'Jadotville' is depicted on the clasp of the medal and the medal ribbon represents a combination of an Irish Tricolour and the United Nations Operation in the Congo mission medal. The Siege of Jadot- ville was an event that occurred during Ireland's peacekeep- ing mission in the Congo in September 1961. 156 Irish sol- diers found themselves fighting against 5,000 Katangese troops to survive as their supplies of ammunition, food and water dwindled over the course of the 5-day battle. An Bonn Jadotville John Gorman IUNVA Post 1 Chairman, John Egan IUNVA President and Brig Gen Colm Campbell Retd IUNVA Pipe Band Members of IUNVA Pictured l/r: David Carrick, Rory Farragher (grandson of Maurice Doyle), Noel Stanley, Tara Scarafile (daughter of Joseph Hegarty), James Harper, John Gorman and John Twomey. Sadly, since writing this article James Harper has passed away. May he rest in peace.

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