Sunday, December 22, 2013

To the people who crapped on Commandant Quinlan:

You can kiss ALL our asses.
The besieged Irish radioed to their headquarters: "We will hold out until our last bullet is spent. Could do with some whiskey".

Even though A Company 35th Battalion had tactically defeated a much larger enemy force at Jadotville the Defence Forces buried all record of the battle, presumably over shame that A Company had in fact surrendered. Commandant Quinlan eventually retired as a full Colonel but never served overseas again, and it was recognized by the officers who fought at Jadotville that it was best for one's career not to mention the battle.

However the veterans of Jadotville continued to be dissatisfied with the Defence Forces' refusal to acknowledge the battle, and in particular the black mark on the reputation of their CO, Commandant Quinlan. Quinlan, who died in 1997, had his public reputation finally restored nine years after his death. The veterans of A Company regarded him as an exceptional officer who saved the lives of his men by ordering them to dig in and successfully led his company against an overwhelming enemy force. He was forced to surrender only due to the failings of the UN leadership and preserved the lives of every one of the men he led into battle.
Most especially they should have to go to his graveside and ask for forgiveness for being such assholes.  Maybe if you ask nicely enough, and bring a bottle of really good drink each to leave, he'll have mercy on you.

Thanks to Michael Z. Williamson on Bookface for pointing to this.

2 comments:

Marja said...

Hey, check out today's 'Day by Day', Sarah Hoyt's 'A Few Good Men' got a bit of advertising on it. And btw, that's a good book. :)

PatriciusAugustus said...

too funny how we remember the Irish in others' wars but forget them on their own. why they still fight for the UN is a mystery...