Argentina pays homage to Brit who recovered Falklands dead
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- Опубліковано 27 бер 2018
- (24 Mar 2018) Families of Argentine soldiers killed in the 1982 war with Britain have paid homage to a former British army officer who helped recover and rebury their loved ones in a Falkland Islands cemetery.
A forensic study recently identified the remains of 90 Argentine soldiers buried there, and the families of the fallen troops will travel to the Falkands next week.
The identification process was possible thanks to the efforts of Geoffrey Cardozo.
He assembled a team of British funeral directors that rappelled into minefields from helicopters and dug up mass graves to recover the Argentine corpses 35 years ago.
They then carefully prepared each one for reburial in individual coffins.
The families of the soldiers and Argentine officials thanked Cardozo on Friday at an emotional ceremony in Buenos Aires.
The war ended on June 14, 1982, but most Argentine bodies were left untouched on the battlefield or in temporary graves through the long southern winter.
Britain tried for months to send them to Buenos Aires, but the military junta said they were already in their homeland.
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher finally agreed to build an Argentine cemetery, and Cardozo, a young British Army captain, was ordered to recover and rebury the dead in January 1983.
It was gruesome but important work, and Cardozo, who retired recently as a colonel, remains proud of it.
In most cases, identifications were impossible.
The Argentines had been ill-prepared for the war, and weren't given durable identification tags.
Captured Argentines who might have identified comrades months earlier had been quickly sent home.
The British had no Argentine military records to compare the bodies to, let alone dental records or other forensic information.
The Argentine military cemetery is located near Darwin, a settlement hours from the capital of Port Stanley where many soldiers on both sides fell in close combat more than 30 years ago.
In all, 649 Argentines and 255 British soldiers died in the war.
All but 14 of the British war dead whose bodies could be recovered were taken home.
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Great humanity lies in his heart
Es un buen tipo y tiene toda mi admiración , excelente trabajo hizo en las islas, Gracias señor por haber tratado a nuestros caidos como suyos, Dios lo bendiga
Such a great man.
What a lovely, humble man. Was he a padre, or a soldier ?
Soldier. 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards. He is a Spanish speaker.
What a guy. Look up humble and you’ll find him. Angel on earth.
This man represents all that "was" good about Britain.
Onore a quest'uomo.
I applaud you sir