Dispute on the bullet helmet of a Platense soldier to the Malvinas

When he was wounded at the Battle of Monte Longdon, during the Falklands War, Private Jorge "Beto" Altieri lost contact with the helmet that had saved his life, mitigating the impact of the bursts. of mortar who had struck him in combat. I would have news of this item seven years ago, when it was auctioned on an Internet site. Altieri then wanted to buy it, but could not: a collector bought it by doubling its offer. At present, the current owner of the helmet in London is offering it at an online auction which ends today with a base price of more than half a million pesos.

For Jorge Altieri, to find this helmet, which still bears today traces of the impact of splinters at the height of the forehead and his own name written in white on the inside, is a long-time desire research. And he wants to have it, in principle, and give it later to an Argentine museum.

"I want it because it's part of my story, and because it saved my life," said the ex-soldier at the newspaper, who went to the Malvinas to integrate the Maipu infantry company of the 7th Infantry Regiment of La Plata, a city which he still keeps a good memory, "Plaza Moreno parades and the people."

Altieri, a neighbor of Lanús and a Pami employee, still retains the aftermath of the serious injuries he has sustained: "I have lost a tissue on the left side of my brain that contains the conduction circuits of the arm, the leg and I also lost my left eye and now I have a prosthesis, "he says.

He's not also lost his life, he adds, it's for the headset that is now being auctioned on the internet (via the e-Bay website) at a price of £ 10,500 ($ 13,000). And that's why he's trying to get it back.

For that, he began making attempts seven years ago. First, he bid on the first online auction, in which he offered £ 400 and the current owner, 800.

Then contact, via intermediaries, the owner of the helmet, asking him to return it or resell it at the price paid during the first auction. But he did not succeed.

"These days we contacted him and we even offered him up to 1,000 pounds for the helmet, but he initially refused to sell it and then asked us for 5,000 pounds that we could not gather, "said Altieri.

37 years after the conflict, the helmet makes him relive the memories of a night limit.

"With my comrades, I fought against the third British Parachute Battalion in Monte Longdon, where I was hit by a blast that killed many of our soldiers and injured many others. I still remember how the blood that flowed from my head froze my face, because in the cold of the islands everything froze immediately, my companions took me mountains to the city, they healed me and I've pulled out on the mainland without realizing that the hull was there, where one of the English paratroopers found us against those who had been fighting in the bush. "

According to Altieri, "I thought I would never see this headset again, a few years ago already, a boy told me that he was attending an Internet auction in London; I did not think that it was possible at first, but he showed me the pictures showing the flush hole and the label that I had affixed to it inside, a- he declared.

"We recently learned that the owner had taken the helmet to an auction that expires today and put a base of 10,500 pounds." That hurt me a lot but it caused a lot of people to express Now, I hope that an official will help me to negotiate with this man.I do not want him to give me the headphones, but I do not understand what is wrong with him. he asks, even by chance. "

Altieri said that "there is a treaty that protects the teams of soldiers at the end of the war, the helmet, the uniform and the harness should be returned to the soldier when he is alive and can be identified as such is the case, "he continues and adds; "I am waiting to see what will happen tomorrow (for today) with the closing of the auction, to see if there are any offers or in the hands of the one who wears the helmet."

He also has a special request related to La Plata: "I would like a plaque commemorating the names of all the soldiers who entered in 1981 and fought with the Malvinas."