Resistencia, City of Sculptures, Argentina

Signs of War in Argentina

As we walked through town, a statue or monument, or even a kiosk would appear, and they were all related to soldiers and fighting. Alex translated and we found out that these memorials were tributes to the Malvinas/Falkland Islands War of 1982.

This monument is located right outside of Resistencia on the way to Corrientes.

Battle for Goose Green

After looking at a lot of photos of the war, one photo seemed to match this monument. It is the capture of 983 Argentinians at Goose Green by 2 PARA on May 28, 1982. 2 PARA is an elite force that consisted of 450 men on this day. Also on this day, the majority of Argentinians taken prisoner were conscripts, that is draftees. However, that is not to say they didn’t fight hard because they did.

The Paras came under heavy enemy fire from anti-aircraft guns, mortars, and heavy artillery. While the enemy had been well dug in for days, 2 PARA did not have much cover. In the end, more than 1,200 prisoners were captured and more than 200 Argentinians were killed in this one battle. 2 PARA lost 17 men killed. A good book to read is A Battle for the Falklands by Max Hastings.

The men are walking in a long line just like the figures in the monument. Perhaps many of the men who fought at Goose Green were from Resistencia and Corrientes.