With the Malvinas engraved on the skin

There is not much time for farewells, but he receives the kiss of his mother-in-law and his wife, with the logical concern and anguish that has awakened this news. She says that her mother-in-law had asked her not to go, that she had contacts and influences to save him from the process that seemed inevitable, but Horacio answered no. He wanted to go "to accomplish the country", for more fears that manifested themselves in a war, although no one has yet spoken of war. Only the recovery of these islands had been announced.

In the islands, everything became hell and, from the first day of the official start of the war, the shelling did not stop for a minute.

The same day the plane arrived at the Malvinas, Horacio was amazed by these picturesque images. A rough sea surrounding two irregular cays, the cold and humid air of the Atlantic, the houses of the inhabitants of this island with its particular architecture. It was the composition of a bucolic landscape so beautiful that at one point, he thought that if this place was not the right place to start a family.

"If I have to save something positive, it's the camaraderie we created with all the comrades who went to the Falklands to fight and defend what belonged to us." "We were soldiers who went to fill the land, the real heroes were guarding the islands, and when we came back they met us in Campo de Mayo, where they did some kind of brainwashing." arrived from the Malvinas, we missed a hug, which would have alleviated all the pain we had at the time, "said Horacio Hagg, a veteran who fought in the Falkland Islands.

"Our mission was to keep the house of Governor Mario Benjamín Menéndez and to ensure that no incident occurs with the islanders," he recalls. And to tell the truth, the work did not seem at all complicated: "In the islands, a party was lived and for us, it was an adventure". He said the Argentinian media that had gone to cover this act had taken notes from him and that they even had the opportunity to communicate with their loved ones.

Things changed when British troops arrived. This climate of concord that seemed so peaceful became hell and, from the first day of the official start of the war, the shelling did not stop for a minute. "There was a lot of confusion, I was on red alert and trenching again and again," he recalls. Although his companions and he have not been on the lookout for clashes, they have always feared that one of these explosions will hit them, even more so when they have a mission to do it. Bring supplies to the troops in combat. There were 74 days of anxiety and startle. Two and a half months of horror, death and uncertainty until the end with the surrender of Argentine troops.

Shortly after, Horacio would discover the balance of this war: 649 dead, thousands of men marked forever and an incredible sense of shame among those who managed to return. "When we got back, they gathered us in Campo de Mayo, where they gave us some kind of brainwashing," he says. He says that they asked him everything they should live and that after hearing the testimonies, they were told that they were no longer required to talk about the subject. as if what had happened on the islands had never happened. Or perhaps as if the defeat had been embarrbading for a society that, until recently, was convinced that the war would be won and that there would be no room for the losers.

And it was so. There was silence and indifference. Horacio had trouble talking about this subject, even with his family. However, he managed to progress, mainly with the support of his wife Adriana. He has never followed therapy. It has matured suddenly and in the most traumatic way for a child of 20, with nights of dread, horrible memories and the feeling that a whole country had abandoned them.

Today, he says he has overcome the trauma of war, even though he admits that he has become a sensitive man. He is excited when he hears the national anthem, when he sees the flag or, quite simply, when someone asks him questions about Malvinas.

The war lasted 74 days in the Falkland Islands. The landing of Argentina took place on April 2, 1982. The legitimacy of the sovereignty of these lands was tainted by a military dictatorship that sought to use the conflict to remain in power. In the islands, 649 Argentines died. Most have been identified and about 10 are still listed as NN.

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