United Nations Flag: Major Susan Lee Felsche, Royal Australian Army Medical Corps, MINURSO

Places	Africa: Western Sahara Oceania: Australia
Accession Number	OL00200.001
Collection type	Heraldry
Object type	Flag
Physical description	Nylon
Maker	Unknown
Place made	Australia
Date made	c 1993

Description

Blue and white nylon United Nations flag.

History / Summary

Major (Dr) Susan Lee Felsche deployed as the medical officer to the 4th Australian Staff Contingent to Operation Cedilla, the Australian contingent to the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) on 17 May 1993.

Attached to the Swiss Medical Unit based in Laayoune, Western Sahara, she moved to the Swiss clinic at Awsard, some 800 km from Laayoune on 17 June. From here light aircraft were used to carry out medical visits to sick and injured members of the force and to conduct clinics for local people.

On 21 June, Felsche boarded a plane for a routine visit to the Dougaj team site, but the aircraft crashed during take-off. She suffered severe injuries and was pulled from the wreckage, but died later that morning.

This UN flag accompanied Major Felsche's body back to Brisbane on 26 June.