Jadotville veteran welcomes independent medal review

The lives of the men who fought in Jadotville would have turned out a lot differently if the army had recognised their bravery on their return from Africa, according to a local veteran.

Nearly 60 years after Commandant Pat Quinlan recommended that 33 of the 155 members of A Company, 35th Battalion involved in the Siege of Jadotville be awarded the Distinguished Service Medal (DSM), an independent group of experts is to be appointed to consider whether the medals should be issued. Mullingar man Tom Gunn was one of the 33 soldiers recommended for a DSM.

Based in the UN post in the Congolese town of Jadotville, in September 1961, Tom and his fellow Irish peacekeepers were attacked by a force of more than 3,000 Katangese rebels led by European mercenaries. Despite their numerical disadvantage, during the five days of the siege, the Irish troops killed 300 of their opponents while incurring no causalities of their own.

Adamant that “strictly speaking, it was not a surrender”, Tom says that Comdt Quinlan agreed to a request from the Katangese for a ceasefire, which the Congolese and their mercenary allies broke. “They surrounded us and forced us to hand over our arms. It was not a surrender in the true sense – we did not come out with our hands over our heads.”

Following their capture, the Irish troops were forced to hand over their weapons and were held as prisoners of war for more than a month.

Today, the efforts of the soldiers in Jadotville are now regarded as among the finest achievements of the Irish army and the tactics employed by Comdt Quinlan are taught at military academies across the world. At the time of their return home, however, the soldiers were criticised in some quarters for “surrendering” and called cowards. Comdt Quinlan’s recommendation that his men’s bravery be recognised was dismissed.

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner this week, Tom said he was “very pleased” that the decision on awarding the medals is being made by an independent review group as it is “taken out of the hands of the military and government”. The group is to include a historian, an academic and ex-army officers.

“It’s a neutral type of group, let them decide. They are all experts. I am happy with that and whatever the outcome after 60 years, we will accept it.”

Due to the negative reaction on their return from The Congo, many of the veterans struggled in future years. Five took their own lives, including the youngest solider, Matthew Quinlan. Although he was only 16 at the time of the siege, Quinlan was one of five recommended for the Military Medal for Gallantry, the highest honour in the Irish army.

A talented gunner, he left the army a few years after Jadotville and emigrated to England, then to Australia. He died by suicide at the age of 47 in 1991.

Tom believes that if the soldiers who fought in Jadotville had received the recognition they deserved in 1961, many of their lives would have turned out differently.

He says that he and his comrades were made “scapegoats” for “military and political blunders” made in Congo by senior figures in the UN.

“I never told anyone I was in Jadotville. Any man ever I met said he was in England, he was everywhere. They never mentioned Jadotville because there was a stigma about being cowards. There were five suicides and many families broken up. The youngest man there was Matt Quinlan. He was 16 and recommended for the equivalent of the Victoria Cross. He came home disillusioned, went to Australia and later killed himself. If he had been given his medal, he would have flown through the ranks.”

Tom, who praised local county councillors and Senator Aidan Davitt for voicing their support for the medal campaign, is one of eight of the 33 soldiers recommended by Comdt Quinlan still alive.

Pleased that they may finally get the recognition that has been denied them for six decades, his thoughts are with those who died “with the stigma of cowardice over their heads”.

“We are in with a chance now. Then I can fade away like an old soldier,” he said.

Around 25 soldiers from the Mullingar area fought in Jadotville: four are still alive: Tom, James Scally, Tommy Cunningham and Billy Keane.