<\/p>\n\n\n
The story of how a peace keeping force of a mere 155 men of \u201cA\u201d Company survived The Siege of Jadotville<\/a> has become the stuff of legend.\u00a0 \u00a0Thanks to the military genius of the late Col.Pat Quinlan<\/a> all of the men survived.\u00a0 The men fought against\u00a0an enemy force of 3,000 without any fatalities.<\/p>\n Sadly due to a number of factors the men were not recognised for\u00a0their actions by the government and the military.\u00a0 Col. Quinlan recommended\u00a0five men\u00a0for the Military Medal for Gallantry (Irish equivalent of the Victoria Cross) and\u00a029 men for the\u00a0Distinguished Service Medal (DSM)<\/a>\u00a0for their actions in Jadotville.<\/p>\n None of them have yet received their awards. Three \u201cA\u201d Company veterans were also recommended for medals for action two months after Jadotville and they did receive their DSM\u2019s.<\/p>\n Documents related to these recommendations were\u00a0“misplaced” in army archives but\u00a0were finally\u00a0discovered only a few weeks ago.\u00a0 The\u00a0documents reveal\u00a0for the first time the names of the five men who were recommended for the Military Medal for Gallantry\u00a0(MMG)<\/strong>\u00a0and the\u00a029\u00a0for the DSM<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The team at “Inspiring You<\/strong>” helped provide a platform for young people in Ireland to campaign<\/a> for the government to recognise the heroism of Ireland’s “Band of Brothers<\/a>“.<\/p>\n Students from Malahide Community School<\/a> and Galway Community College<\/a> joined forces to help “right a wrong” and shine a light on the bravery of the men of “A” Company.<\/p>\n In a determined campaign the team at\u00a0Inspiring You<\/a>,\u00a0 teachers and students from both schools worked together.\u00a0 This helped these men get the recognition and apology they deserved.<\/p>\n The students wrote letters to politicians, contacted local and national media, got support from the general public, invited some of the soldiers and relatives to their schools to tell their story.\u00a0 Catherine Connolly<\/a>, Galway West TD<\/strong>, raised the students campaign with the Minister of Defence Paul Kehoe<\/strong> in the D\u00e1il<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The students even helped to draft a\u00a0Leaders\u2019 question<\/a>\u00a0to former Taoiseach Enda Kenny<\/strong> which was presented by Galway West TD, Noel Grealish<\/strong>.<\/p>\n After a lot of hard work by the staff, students and some political representatives, the former Taoiseach Enda Kenny<\/a> met with some representatives from \u201cA\u201d Company<\/strong>,\u00a0(two of whom were recommended for medals)\u00a0and the schools involved in the\u00a0#MedalsforJadotville<\/a>\u00a0campaign.<\/p>\n On the 13th<\/sup>\u00a0of June<\/a> on his last day in office he announced that a special medal recognising the valour of the Irish soldiers would be awarded after 56 years of inaction.<\/p>\n History was made when\u00a0a Unit Citation<\/strong> (1st<\/sup>\u00a0in the Irish Army) and Bonn Jadotville medal<\/a> (linked to the Unit Citation) was awarded to surviving veterans of\u00a0\u201cA\u201d Company and their families in December 2017 in Custume Barracks, Athlone<\/a>.\u00a0 These medals were awarded to recognise the valiant defence and courage shown by “A” Company.<\/p>\n However the specific 32 medals recommended by \u201cA\u201d Company Commander Pat Quinlan<\/strong> have NOT YET been awarded.<\/strong><\/p>\nBravery medals yet to be awarded after 57 years<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Recommended for medals<\/h3>\n
Discovered only a few weeks ago<\/h3>\n
Recognise the heroism<\/h3>\n
“Right a wrong”<\/h3>\n
Schools worked together<\/h3>\n
Tell their story<\/h3>\n
Leaders’ questions drafted by students<\/h3>\n
Former Taoiseach met with representatives<\/h3>\n
Special medal announced<\/h3>\n
Awarded to recognise the valiant defence<\/h3>\n
Medals of bravery yet to be presented<\/h3>\n