As Australians pause to pay tribute to service men and women this Remembrance Day, some soldiers are still fighting to have the deeds of their fathers from 60 years ago given the recognition they deserve.
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Matt Quinlan - Irish A Company soldier and siege of Jadotville survivor in the Congo in 1961 - made the small outback town of Winton his home after seeing the horrors of war at just 16 years old.
Matt sadly took his own life 30 years ago in 1992, but current Winton Mayor Gavin Baskett is keen to see his heroics recognised.
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Winton is championing Matt with advocates in talks with the Irish Embassy to erect a memorial in Matt's honour in the town.
The son of Matt's Commandant Pat Quinlan (no relation), Leo Quinlan, said it was heart-warming to see the town stand up and care for an Irish hero
Sixty years on from Jadotville, Leo is still battling the Irish Government for 34 men to receive medals recognising their actions in the siege. Matt is among them.
"I think it's actually incredible, it's heart warming and I imagine it brings comfort and some closure to families that veterans like Matt have found peace in the community," Leo said of how Winton had adopted Matt.
"The Winton community must be very special to look after him while he was alive and to continue doing so now."
Matt was among about 30 men nominated by Leo's father and his officers for the Distinguished Service Medal for his actions during a conflict where 155 members of A Company, serving as UN peace-keepers, came under siege from a 3000-strong separatist force led by elite mercenaries.
Not a single Irish soldier was killed, but after five days of intense battle they ran out of ammunition, food and water and agreed to a ceasefire. They were prisoners of war until their release more than a month later.
The Jadotville soldiers returned home as heroes, but then sentiment towards them changed and they have struggled to get recognition for their service since.
Leo said he was a 16-year-old when his father returned home and he knew little of their struggles both overseas and on returning to Ireland.
He said A Company had been treated with a kind of quiet disregard - they were overlooked, ignored.
"To some extent we weren't aware, it was just a silence from the authorities - they ignored the A Company and its personnel," Leo said.
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Leo went on join the Army, becoming a Commandant and, eventually, serving under, alongside and commanding some of the Jadotville veterans.
In 2005, 44 years on from the Jadotville conflict, the Irish Government finally made a formal recognition of the heroics of the members of A Company "It took 44 years to get that formal recognition," Leo said.
And in 2017 An Bonn Jadotville medals were awarded to each member of A Company in recognition that the soldiers had done something extraordinary.
However, now closing in on 60 years since the siege and despite decades of advocacy for five Military Medal of Gallantry (MMG) and 29 Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) to be awarded to solidiers in the company, they have yet to be approved.
Following the release in August this year of a 500 page report of an independent review into whether the medals should be awarded, the Irish Times reported that the review panel felt to do so would devalue the An Bonn Jadotville medals.
However, court proceedings are still ongoing to overturn that decision. "We're still chasing to see the MMGs and DSMs presented," Leo said.
As part of the independent review, a recommendation was made that Pat Quinlan be awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. The family declined the offer as no other soldiers were to be recognised.
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"Our family was thinking about it, and our father had no interest in the medal for himself if the men were not going to get their medals," Leo said.
"Basically what we're trying to do is to have our father's wishes carried out and don't want to accept one medal at the expense of all the others."
Leo has since gone on to lecture about the impacts and turmoil caused by 'Moral Injury' - the act of betrayal of higher authority after suffering through a traumatic event - at the US Army War College.
He said lessons were tragically learned far too late for Jadotville veterans and their families.
"They had trouble with relationships, broken marriages, mental illness, alcoholism, depression and in extreme cases suicide," Leo said.
Matt was among five men who took their own lives, believed to be linked to the trauma of the Jadotville siege.
"They suffered and their children and grand children are still suffering," Leo said.
"We're hoping that the authorities will see the benefit of bringing closure to this whole business in the right way to award the medals as recommended 60 years ago. This is just a matter of doing the right thing."
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Jacob McMaster
I am passionate about amplifying people's stories and trying to do them justice in the written word. I find pressure washing videos soothing. email me jacob.mcmaster@austcommunitymedia.com.au or 0406 212 845.
I am passionate about amplifying people's stories and trying to do them justice in the written word. I find pressure washing videos soothing. email me jacob.mcmaster@austcommunitymedia.com.au or 0406 212 845.
