Falklands war veterans from La Plata at one of their weekly meetings.
They were young cannon fodder -- sent by the Argentinean junta to win a war against the British 25 years ago. They were ill-equipped, starving and their own officers were their worst enemies.
Twenty men meet in a backroom in the Argentinean provincial capital La Plata every Tuesday evening. They greet each other with kisses on the cheek and hug as if they hadn't seen each other in years. Then they sit down around a long table, set with dishes made of tin. The meals are simple -- pasta mostly, with cheap wine and lemonade.
None of the men ever forget the weekly dinner. It's been their ritual for more than 20 years. Their experiences in the Falklands War unite them. They fought together on the Malvinas -- as the archipelago in the southern Atlantic is called in Latin America.
Dug into muddy trenches, they fought over every rotting biscuit. They secretly stole sheep from the islanders and, unable to make a fire -- it was wartime, after all -- they devoured the meat raw. "The months on the islands have marked us for life," says 45-year-old Norberto Santos.
Argentina's dispute with Britain over the Malvinas continues to this day. On the eve of the anniversary of the war Argentina suspended a cooperation agreement with London on oil exploration around the islands, announcing that such cooperation could only continue if Britain agreed to "renew dialogue over sovereignty."
Stocky Norberto Santos weighed 86 kilograms (190 lbs.) when he was sent to the Malvinas on April 8, 1982. He was 18 years old, had just completed his military service and was studying economics. "Our superiors told us it was a kind of excursion. No one expected war," he remembers. Two months later he was just skin and bones. His officers were hoarding the supplies arriving from the mainland. Those caught begging or stealing sheep were pegged to the ground for days and exposed to the icy cold.Read It Here
(RG) I Just thought some readers might be interested in the Argentinean side of things, we all know what happened from a British perspective (We Won) but I can tell you this it was not easy and many of these Argentinean soldiers fought with extreme bravery. Patriotism can only bring you so far, you also need the right equipment and rations and leadership. Another huge factor is `Moral` we had it in abundance. With all these factors together and our Professionalism we just about edged it to victory. But unlike when I was stood on a hill at Fitzroy in 1982 as a 19 year old, I don’t hate them anymore.
© Mack (RG) The thoughts of a Falklands War Veteran.
Rogue_gunner_32_alpha@yahoo.co.uk
My father took part in the Battle of The Atlantic; he has still a high regard for his opponents and a visceral hatred for those who try to denigrate what I can only call the service of the participants.
ReplyDeleteA former Royal Marine (Falklands veteran) of my (past) acquaintance was annoyed by nothing so much as media descriptions of the Argentine troops as frightened 16 year old conscripts.
I haven't served in the forces, but many of my family and friends have. The self-serving bullshit served up as 'fact' by academics, 'intellectuals', politicians and the press, not to mention the film 'industry' (Wtf do they make other than money?) is just that.
When the soundbites are forgotten and the money long spent, the honours superseded and the VIPs long dead, there are still those who remember, in sometimes out of the way places and often unstill ways.
There is more to caring than paying lip service to that fact.