Halcones

Halcones de Malvinas is a collection of almost 90 personal vignettes written in Spanish by Argentinean veterans of the Falklands/Malvinas War of 1982 between Argentina and Great Britain. Thevignettes recount the experiences of fighter pilots, transport crews, helicopter pilots, ground troops, antiaircraft-artillery crews, chaplains, and many others. Comodoro Carballo, a renownedA-4 Skyhawk pilot for the Fuerza Aérea Argentina (FAA) (Argentinean air force), flew combat missions in the war. Previous books by this accomplished writer—Halcones sobre Malvinas and Dios y losHalcones—serve as points of departure for Halcones de Malvinas. Incidentally, the title may have a double meaning: in a narrow sense, “falcons” refers to the nickname of the author’s fightersquadron, but one can also see that the word refers more broadly to the spirit of the FAA and the nation.

The book repeatedly emphasizes the justness of Argentina’s wartime cause. Britishreaders may wince at references to Royal Navy “pirate ships” and British “usurpers,” and a remark that British air operations “reminded me of Hitler and his relentless aerial assault againstLondon” (p. 459) seems a bit harsh. On the other hand, the vignettes consistently make clear that the Argentineans did not hate the British people. Apart from some sore topics such as the British useof both Beluga air-dropped mines (considered illegal by the Argentineans) and the fearsome Gurka infantrymen, Halcones de Malvinas depicts a relatively chivalrous war. One especially grippingchapter entitled “Swimming among the Frigates” describes how the British rescued an injured Argentinean A-4 pilot after shooting him down during a low-altitude attack against a Royal Navy ship,gave him good medical care, treated him well, and repatriated him after the war. Similarly, the book mentions that Argentinean forces handled captured and dead British personnel with dignity.