Missing in Action: The 50 Year Search for Ireland's Missing Soldier

by Ralph Riegel, Ralph Riegel

The dramatic true story of a brave young soldier who laid down his life to save a comrade, and the struggle to identify his burial place and repatriate his remains. On 15 September 1961, eighteen year old Trooper Patrick Mullins was posted missing after a bloody ambush of an Irish UN convoy in the Congo. During the fierce gun-fight, Mullins was killed and his body taken as spoils of war by the rebel militia. When Ireland finally ended its UN mission in the Congo Tpr. Mullins' body remained buried in an unknown grave. With the 50th anniversary of his death fast approaching, the Mullins family remains caught in the terrible nightmare of maintaining an empty grave at the foothills of the Galtee Mountains. This fascinating book describes Mullins' story, the struggle to find his body, and the difficulties in bringing it home.

Genres: Ireland

274 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Ralph Riegel lives in Cork. He has worked as a journalist for several newspapers including The Cork Examiner, The Evening Echo, The Evening Herald and The Sunday Independent and is the southern correspondent for The Irish Independent. He is also a regular contributor to RTE, BBC and TV3 and to British newspapers including the (London) Independent and The Daily Telegraph.

Reviews

[Jarrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

5星。
看標題以為是類似Where They Lay的挖掘紀實，其實內容比較偏向解說剛果危機的背景脈絡，以及愛爾蘭聯軍第35營在卡坦加的行動記錄和莫梭行動後嚴重惡化的地方情勢。雖然這樣簡介感覺這本書好像很硬，但作者敘事清晰，還會適時引用老兵提供的第一手資料，因此讀起來一點都不枯燥，還很適合搭配Declan Power的Siege of Jadotville一起看，進一步了解A連隊被圍攻期間，卡坦加其它地方的愛爾蘭部隊發生什麼事。
個人認為最精彩的部分是作者用現有調查資料，去推演年僅18歲的裝甲兵Pat Mullins人生最後的軌跡，超級感人！

[Glen Gilpin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this book up in a bookshop in Portrush. Very informative about Irish troops in the Congo in the 60s. Plus a very interesting story and search for Patrick Mullins.