Nearly 37 years ago, between April 2 - June 14, 1982, the Falklands War saw 649 Argentines and 255 British soldiers killed but now two blood-stained and battered helmets will bring a bit of peace.
ADVERTISEMENTNearly 37 years ago, between April 2 - June 14 1982, the Falklands War saw 649 Argentines and 255 British soldiers killed.
Now, two worn-out helmets from the Argentine conflict will bring some level of peace to two Argentinians.
Diego Arreseigor, then 23, took a blood-stained helmet of a fallen British soldier in the Mount Longdon battle in June from a pile of discarded equipment and hid it under his jacket from a British soldier.
Diego considered it a kind of trophy of war which helped console a little pain for the sadness of losing fallen friends. But now he plans to return it to the family of Alexander Shaw who wore it and was 25 years old when he was killed.
Diego said, "Poor thing (Susan, sister of a fallen British soldier who wore the helmet) was just 15 when her only brother travelled to war and didn't come back. So I began to think of this woman's pain, the pain of this whole family, her parents who went on to die, having lost their son. All of this led me to decide in December (2018) that I was going to travel to England, to give it to them personally."
Meanwhile, Jorge Altieri, an Argentine Veteran lost an eye and part of his brain in a blast at the same battle, two days before fighting stopped.
His helmet was recently returned to him after it went to London at the end of the war and eventually found its way on eBay for sale.
An anonymous Argentine entrepreneur bought it for him as a surprise.
Jorge said, "I use it as a kind of teddy bear, close to me. I have it next to me and now I find myself spending most of my time looking at the helmet because I can't stop looking at it, thinking of what it did to stop the bomb shrapnel blowing my head off."
Jorge hopes to display it at home, then he'll donate it to a Falklands war museum.