A train journey to Dublin in 1940 would eventually bring Art Magennis all the way to the Congo where he was decorated for bravery with the Irish army.
The Co Down man was part of the young state's first major military deployment when it joined a UN force attempting to keep the peace in the newly-independent central African republic.
He served as second-in-command of the Armoured Car Group 35th Infantry Battalion, taking over when his superior was among troops taken prisoner in the breakaway province of Katanga in 1961.
Amid threats to have soldiers executed, Magennis travelled alone, unarmed and blindfolded, through hostile territory to successfully negotiate for their lives.
He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal with Honour for his outstanding courage.
Magennis also won admiration for his determined efforts to find the bodies of two Irish soldiers - 26 in all would die in the Congo - following an ambush.
Pat Mullins (18) lost his life while heroically tried to protect his dying colleague Corporal Michael Nolan. A search operation led by Magennis managed to recover the latter's body, but despite his best efforts over many years Trooper Mullins remains 'missing in action'.
Born in Ardglass in 1919, Art Magennis was educated in the local school by his father and then at St Malachy’s College in north Belfast.
In June 1940 he and a friend travelled to Dublin to join the Irish army after hearing then taoiseach Éamon de Valera call for volunteers to defend Ireland on the radio.
He gathered money from relatives for the train and was met by his uncle Eamon, a captain in the Irish army who took them to a barracks.
Magennis became an instructor in armoured fighting vehicles and as well as the Congo he served twice with the UN in Cyprus during a 39-year career.
Commdt Arthur Joseph Magennis died on February 12 in his 100th year and is survived by his five children and a brother Tim.
