Thursday 31 March 2011

Day of remembrance of the Malvinas War veterans and the fallen in war

April 2nd
On the morning of April 2nd, 1982, Argentinian troops retook their sovereign rights over the Malvinas, Georgias, Sandwich and South Atlantic Islands by force. They took the Argentinian Port (Stanley Port), the capital of the archipelago. This way, the so-called “Malvinas War” began. It ended 74 days later, on June 14th at 4 p.m.-when the Argentinian troops finally surrendered.The war resulted in the death of 257 British and 649 Argentinian soldiers. This is an extremely sad part of our history and another sinister act of the last coup in Argentina.
Here is a poem to remember the fallen in war.
I do not know your name

I do not know your name, but I know you died
I do not know from where you came, but I know you died

Your uniform, branch of service, it matters not to me
Whether Volunteer or Conscript, or how it came to be

That politicians' failures, or some power-mad ambition
Brought you too soon to your death, in the name of any nation

You saw, you felt, you knew full well, as friend and foe were taken
By bloody death, that your life too, was forfeit and forsaken
Yet on you went and fought and died, in your close and private hell
For Mate or Pal or Regiment and memories never to tell

It was for each other, through shot and shell, the madness you endured
Side by side, through wound and pain, and comradeship assured
No family ties, or bloodline link, could match that bond of friend
Who shared the horror and kept on going, at last until the end

We cannot know, we were not there, it's beyond our comprehension
To know the toll that battle brings, of resolute intention
To carry on, day by day, for all you loved and hoped for
To live in peace a happy life, away from bloody war

For far too many, no long life ahead, free of struggle and pain and the gun
And we must remember the price that was paid, by each and every one
Regardless of views, opinions aside, no matter how each of us sees it
They were there and I cannot forget, even though I did not live it

I do not know your name, but I know you died
I do not know from where you came, but I know you died.
Kenny Martin
1982 Malvinas War Fallen Memorial
Built in 1990 in honor to those who died for Argentina

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