Jadotville vets should not have to go ‘cap in hand’ for medals

(Above) Jadotville veteran Tom Gunn.

The Jadotville veterans who were recommended for medals by their commanding officer 60 years ago should not have to go “cap in hand” to the government for recognition.

That’s according to Mullingar man Tom Gunn, one of the 33 A Company soldiers involved in the siege who were recommended for Distinguished Service Medals by Commandant Pat Quinlan when they returned from the Congo in 1961.

In July, a report by the independent review group established by the Dept of Defence concluded that company commander Commandant Quinlan be considered for a posthumous DSM – however, much to the anger and disappointment of campaigners, the group also decided that no further medals be awarded despite Commandant Quinlan’s recommendations.

The review group said in the report that awarding further Distinguished Service Medals or Military Medals for Gallantry – Commandant Quinlan also recommend that five of the 33 be awards the MMG – would devalue the specially commissioned medals awarded to all Jadotville veterans in 2017.

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner this week after it emerged that Senator Gerard Craughwell is seeking a judicial review of the findings of the review group, veteran Tom says that while Commandant Quinlan is a worthy recipient of a DSM, he wasn’t surprised by the overall findings of the review group.

“I was interviewed by Zoom and when it was finished, I didn’t think we had any chance, which we hadn’t. They didn’t seem to grasp what went on...

“The mistakes that were made weren’t made at soldier level, they were made by politicians.

“Usually it is the commander in the field who makes recommendations for medals or demotions, and his word is taken, but in actual fact, in a background way they told Commandant Pat Quinlan that he didn’t know what he was talking about.”

A decorated UN peacekeeping veteran, Tom, who is one of eight Jadotville veterans recommended for a DSM still alive, says that his disappointment at the findings of the review group has more to do with the lack of recognition of his comrades’ bravery than anything else.

“I have enough medals. I have the Jadotville medal. I have the Congo medals, the Cyprus medal, the Sinai medal. I have Noble Peace Prize medal [which in 1988 was given to soldiers who served in the UN].

“I told them that it wasn’t for myself. I have an extended family. I have friends [former veterans] who were expecting that we would be recognised. It’s them I am more sorry for. One more medal won’t make me any braver.”

The chairman of the Mullingar branch of the Organisation of National Ex-Service Personnel (ONE), Tom believes that, in general, Ireland could do a lot more for its military veterans.

“In America, they really look up to their veterans. I could go into any shop in New York or Boston and buy what I like and get 20 per cent off it. I am not whinging, at this stage I am just stating facts.

“We were soldiers – we shouldn’t have to go cap in hand and go through a degrading sequence [of events] to try to get medals. Sixty years is an awful long time.”