Thirty years ago, the Task force arrived in San Carlos
Water, to begin the fight back to retake the Islands, and this year we all
drove out on the long road to Blue Beach cemetery, for the ceremony of
remembrance.
Many veterans had travelled from the UK to be there; most
for the first time since 1982, and on a blue sky morning we stood in the frosty
cold and sang.
This, according to the veterans, was exactly the same
weather they remember; the snow arrived later. On this day, they landed in
sunshine. The difference was the noise; they all remember the overwhelming roar
as the planes flew over, dropping bombs. Amazing stories of watching, slow
motion, as bombs, released above them, parachuted down and exploded beside them
on the beach. Stories of trying to keep friends alive, of bravery, and of the
camaraderie as they coped with the fear, the cold and the wet.
A typical Falkland reception followed in the fields; food
from all points of the island (including our kitchen) filled trestle tables,
and everyone tucked in.
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