WALTER HEGARTY, AGE 76, RENMORE, GALWAY

Walter Hegarty joined the Irish Army in Athlone in 1959. The following year he became part of the first Irish Peacekeeping Mission oversees with the U.N. forces as a member of the 32nd Battalion. He describes in great detail the terrible turmoil and upheaval in the political situation in the Congo during the early 1960s. He returned to the Congo in 1961 as a sergeant with the 35th Infantry Battalion, and in this recording he provides a vivid account of the engagement at Jadotville and of the hostage situation which transpired.