10/31/2020 4:23 PM
Clarín.com
Society
Updated 10/31/2020 4:23 PM
The only woman who married a former Malvinas combatant in the midst of the war with Great Britain and through legal representatives, died this week in the Fuegian city of Rio Grande at the age of 63, affected by coronavirus.
Silvina Elisa Martínez
had starred in a historical event, when she married the chief warrant officer
René Marcelino Aguilar
, who at that time was fighting in Puerto Argentino.
The ceremony, carried out through legal representatives on June 9, 1982, constitutes "the only marriage between Argentines carried out during the war" and "the first one carried out in the archipelago
after 150 years of British occupation,"
Aguilar recalled to the remember that episode.
Martínez and Aguilar were dating in Puerto Belgrano, near the city of Bahía Blanca, when the member of the Marine Infantry Anti-aircraft Battalion was summoned to join the Argentine ranks that defended the territorial recovery of the Malvinas Islands, produced on 2 April 82.
"As soon as we arrived in Malvinas, they highlighted our main objective, which was to carry out the antiaircraft defense of the Puerto Argentino airstrip. We had to keep the air bridge with the mainland operable and we did, because until June 20, when we we withdrew, the track was still operational, "said the former combatant during an interview with
FM Aire Libre
de Río Grande.
The couple had been living in Rio Grande for several years.
Photo Télam
However, on June 1, while handling the 12 pieces of 30-millimeter artillery and the three surface-to-air missile launchers, and received constant naval artillery fire, Aguilar took time to speak with his second commander.
He told him that his girlfriend, in Bahía Blanca,
was pregnant
, and that he wanted to get married to leave the surname to his unborn child.
"I also explained to him that my wish was not to return to the continent, because I
was sure that I was going to die
. But that for me, as a soldier, there was nothing more honorable and worthy than that," said the war veteran.
The subcommander answered him, first, the most natural thing: that a marriage was impossible, given the circumstances, although he still began negotiations with his own superiors, to evaluate any possibility.
"On June 9, they ordered me to abandon my position and stand out to the people. The governor himself, General (Mario Benjamín) Menéndez, was waiting for me. Everything was ready to celebrate the marriage," Aguilar said.
The ceremony was unfolded in two acts that were held simultaneously: in Bahía Blanca there was Martínez and the subcommander's wife with a power of attorney to represent the soldier, and in Puerto Argentino there was Aguilar and the subcommander, with a power of attorney to represent Martínez.
"It was all fast, at the same time. I remember that it was dark and I had to return to my position. They
gave me an almanac with a naked woman
for my honeymoon.
And a carton of cigarettes
to share with my companions. night we received artillery fire until dawn, "recalled the war veteran.
Aguilar said that on his return to Bahía Blanca, after the end of the war,
the marriage certificate was lost in Puerto Argentino
and the authorities did not recognize the marriage, which brought him problems in obtaining social work for his daughter .
"I wanted to get married again and they would not let me. A general told me that I did not take dimension of what had happened, that it was a historical fact,
an act of sovereignty. It
took me 8 years to obtain the final certificate that accredits my marriage, where I appear as married in Puerto Argentino, "said the former combatant.
Then the story ran its course and the couple ended up settling in Rio Grande, where they were happy until Silvina contracted Covid-19 a few weeks ago, had to be hospitalized and died in the city hospital, last Wednesday 28.
However, Aguilar keeps in his memory even the smallest details of what it represented to have married in those circumstances, in the midst of the horror of war, and even leaves room for a laughing episode.
"At my wedding my deputy commander was in legal representation of my wife and I. The person in charge of the celebration said:" the groom can sign, "and I did it, and" the bride can sign, "and the deputy commander signed. the ceremony, some boys in the background shouted: 'The groom can kiss the bride', and we all laughed a lot, "he recalled.
Source: Télam