Sixty-years-ago in October, Matt Quinlan was among Irish UN peacekeepers freed after more than a month as a prisoner of war in the Congo in 1961, after surviving a five-day siege in Jadotville.
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But now he is forging a new legacy as something of a national hero and as that of a favourite son to Winton locals, where his grave lies almost 30 years after he tragically took his own life in 1992.
Mr Quinlan lived in Winton for about 25 years after leaving the Irish Army and is on the verge of posthumously receiving the Distinguished Service Medal for his actions during the peace-keeping mission that left 158 members of A Company isolated an under attack by around 5000 separatists.
Few in Winton knew of Mr Quinlan's time in the army, but he had ingratiated himself with Indigenous people of the area, who had carefully wrapped his body and watched over him following his death, while the family made a flight from Ireland to retrieve him.
They were outnumbered and fought well to survive - they were more or less left there to die by the UN leaders and similarly to Vietnam vets they were treated like criminals
- Winton Mayor, Gavin Baskett
However, the family spoke with those who knew him and decided his remains should be laid to rest in the regional Queensland town, where he had been able to find some peace from the traumas of his past.
"He seemed to have found peace here in Winton - they thought it was more appropriate to leave him," Winton Mayor Gavin Baskett said on Friday.
"We're having some discussions - the embassy and the family are keen to do something here to remember him by," Mr Baskett said.
"I think it would be fantastic to do some sort of memorial to him - it's just to find what the ideal spot would be.
"I'm keen to pursue it and give it the recognition it deserves."
The company was led by Commandant Pat Quinlan (no relation) and noted Matt's bravery and ability in transcripts and radio messages shared to the North West Star by his son Leo Quinlan.
Leo said Matt commanded a three-man mortar crew, though they were hardly men, aged just 16 and 17.
"Working only from a grid reference and not able to physically observe their target this young mortar team destroyed a French 75mm howitzer at a distance of 1542 yards before it could be used on the defending Irish forces," Leo said.
"This was just one of the successes of Matt Quinlan's mortar crew, fighting from a Morthor pit, which by it's nature could not use any camouflage and was thus a target for return fire."
When "A" Company returned to Ireland in December 1961 civic receptions were held in every town and village to welcome them home as heroes. Newspapers at the time praised the action of "A" Company and the fact that all returned alive from the Congo.
However, as official reports from UN HQ and elsewhere began to criticise the leadership and decision-making at high level in the Congo which resulted in "A" Company being left isolated in Jadotville, the Irish authorities buried all reference to Jadotville for many years.
Commandant Quinlan's son Leo said the mood was summarised well in 2019 by a former Director of Peace Operations in the US Army War College.
"The prevailing school of opinion is that while "A" Company had tactically defeated a much larger enemy force at Jadotville, the Defence Forces buried all record of the battle, presumably because the entire UN operation in the Congo was a fiasco and too much publicity would tarnish the UN and the Irish Army. The cease fire agreement that was broken by the Katangese was seen in some quarters as a surrender by the Irish and this was used to sweep this exceptionally brilliant defensive action under the carpet."
Mr Baskett said it would have been hard to stomach the response.
"They were outnumbered and fought well to survive - they were more or less left there to die by the UN leaders and similarly to Vietnam vets they were treated like criminals," Mr Baskett said.
"Matt wanted to get away from that and probably couldn't have come much further - so he could find some solace out here.
"It's sad because the people at the time didn't realise what they had went through and it was probably similar to Vietnam, it would have been very traumatising, but twofold by the time you got home to be vilified - that was probably more of a battle itself."
Mr Quinlan had left that life behind him and never became aware that his commander had nominated him for promotion to Corporal, or that he was one of 33 men nominated to receive the Distinguished Service Medal.
In October, Mr Baskett was contacted by a Melbourne writer Marty O'Connor, whose father had also served in Jadotville as an 18-year-old.
Mr O'Connor has recently been part of an independent review in Ireland pushing to see the medals awarded to the eight surviving nominees and posthumously to those who have passed.
In 2017 each member of A Company was awarded the Bonn Jadotville medal to recognise and honour "their courageous actions during the Siege of Jadotville" in September of 1961, reads a statement by Irish Minister for Defence Simon Coveney.
Mr O'Connor was presented the final Bonn Jadotville medal on behalf of his father by the Irish Ambassador to Australia in Melbourne this year.
Mr O'Connor has since also advocated for involvement from the Irish Government with the embassy now part of discussions to erect a plaque or memorial in Mr Quinlan's memory in Winton.
"It's very important for his family and I think it is great for Winton as well for Matty to make this his home - let's make sure we do it justice," Mr Baskett said.
Mr O'Connor said if the Irish Government did not come forward with funding he would find a way to cover the costs for a memorial himself.
Matt was just 16 when he followed in his father's footsteps and enrolled in the army where he was sent to the troubled African nation in 1961 as part of a UN peacekeeping mission.
However, hostilities broke out and the members of the 35th Irish Batallion, A Company, found themselves isolated and facing an overwhelming enemy force of separatists who supported the secessionist State of Katanga and elite mercenaries.
Despite being outnumbered 20 to one, the Irish held firm and fought fiercely for five days before running out of ammunition and rations where they signed a ceasefire, that effectively made them prisoners of war to the Katanganese forces before their release about a month later.
Matt celebrated his 17th birthday as a POW.
A painful legacy
Leo said around 300 enemy soldiers were killed surrounding the Irish position, while others were wounded in the bush around the outpost where their cries could be heard through the day and night.
The Commandant's son went on to say this had a serious negative effect on the crew stationed at Jadotville at the time and certainly in the years following.
"Matt and his crew were responsible for much of this damage to the enemy force and obviously this weighed heavily on his mind in later years as it did on the other two members of his crew, one of whom is still living in Galway, Ireland," Leo said.
The events have since been immortalised in film with the Netflix film by the same name [Siege of Jadotville].
Commandant Pat Quinlan's son Leo said there were painful lessons learned in the years following the Jadotville siege.
"Many of the veterans of Jadotville, like Matt Quinlan, led difficult lives in the years after 1961. It is only recently, again through involvement of the US War College that is teaching the Siege of Jadotville, that the element of Moral Injury has been attributed to the men of Jadotville," he said.
"It is now being recognised that Jadotville is a perfect example of "Collective Moral Injury". Moral Injury is defined as a situation 'where soldiers experience some traumatic experience and are then betrayed by higher authority.
"This was the aftermath of Jadotville."
Leo said there were common impacts stemming from moral injury, which included silence - many of the soldiers never spoke of their experiences again, or only opening up after seeing the Netflix film, near the end of their life, or in recent talks with the review board.
Some Jadotville veterans have shown varying degrees of mental illness since the conflict.
And sadly, Mr Quinlan is among at least five members of the peace-keeping mission to have taken their own life.
"In Spring 2022, a two-week symposium is being held in the United States on the issue of Moral Injury. Jadotville will be centre stage at this symposium. It is being moderated by General Sir Rupert Smith, British Army (Retired) and Lt General James Dubik, US Army (Retired)," Leo said.