Irish Veterans Historical Research Centre Ltd
http://www.irishveteransresearch.com/

The Irish Veterans Historical Research Centre is a registered Irish charity (No. CHY14643), the aims of which are: to identify those Irish men and women who served in Defence Forces outside the Irish State, and to create a suitable Memorial in Ireland to their service and sacrifice.

To make this possible the IVHRC has been searching for a site suitable in Ireland to establish a proper centre where research into Irish Veterans across the globe can be carried out.

The genesis of the project lies in the 1998 exercise to identify Irish-born soldiers who lost their lives during the Vietnam War. The official US records showed one solitary Irishman as having died, but within a year 16 Irish-born had been identified. Culminating in a tour of Ireland by the replica Vietnam Memorial (April-May 1999), that initial research pointed up individual families throughout Ireland mourning their losses in private, and without the benefit of having any national focus of remembrance and honour for fallen family members. As research has continued into the Irish Vietnam dead, the total identified presently stands at 19 Irishmen and one Irish woman who died serving in US uniform. Another four Irishmen died serving with Australian forces in Vietnam.

With proper research facilities there is little doubt that this figure would be increased. Korea, World War Two and World War One hold similar knowledge gaps, with the exception that we know that upwards of 49,000 Irish lost their lives in World War One serving in British Army regiments. The numbers of those who served in US, Australian, Canadian and other forces in that same war, and others, are as yet unknown.

While continuing the search for a suitable memorial site in Ireland, we are currently seeking information on Irish men and women who served in United States Military from 1900 to the present day. Information sought includes

• full name, date and place of birth
• address (if living, or next-of-kin)
• date of death (if deceased, and whether killed in action, in which campaign etc)
• branch of military (division, regiment, unit etc)
• campaigns served
• at what level/rank separated from military, awards and any other pertinent information.

Among the Directors of IVHRC are Irish Veterans who served in Korea and Vietnam with both US and Australian forces. Information and other support may be sent to Irish Veterans Historical Research Centre Ltd, Capel Chambers, 119 Capel Street, Dublin 1, Republic of Ireland.

Thank you.

Declan P. Hughes

Coordinator

ENDS

Note

Veteran Directors of this project include:

Michael Coyne, b. Galway, served 11 th Armoured Cavalry, Vietnam

Brendan Dodd, b. Dublin, served 196 th Infantry,Vietnam

Tom Kelly, b. Roscommon, served 173 rd Airborne, Vietnam

Edward Somers, b. Wexford, served 1 st Royal Australian Regiment, Vietnam

John Hawkins, b. Wexford, served 3 rd Royal Australian Regiment, Korea

Army Master Sergeant Ron Howko (ret), Mayo

Declan Hughes was the original instigator of the campaign to identify Irish killed in Vietnam, and was Irish Tour Coordinator for the tour of the replica Vietnam Memorial to Ireland in 1999.

Declan Hughes can be contacted at dectwth@eircom.net

This email is being disseminated as widely as possible throughout the United States. Should you receive it in error, please accept our apologies. To be removed from our mailing list please email dectwth@eircom.net .