FIRST PETTY OFFICER NURSE (Ret) WAR VETERAN ANGEL QUIROGA
EDUARDO
C.GERDING
"Male Nurse: Words which describe a person
strong enough to tolerate everything and soft enough to understand
everyone."
This article aims to highlight the life of First
Petty Officer Nurse (Ret)War Veteran Angel Quiroga and his participation in the
Marine Infantry Battalion No. 5.
The characteristics of our male naval nurses have
always been the combination of healthcare, compassion and empathy with
autonomy, rationality and emotional control
First Petty Officer Nurse War Veteran Angel Quiroga
was born on May 5, 1945 in Chorrillos, Province of Jujuy, son of Lucas Quiroga
and Gualberta Calisaya. Chorrillos is one of the smallest and most colorful
towns in the Quebrada de Humahaca, at 1883 meters above sea level. It is a
geography characterized by cacti and spectacularly colorful mountains. This
area was the first part of Argentina explored and colonized by the Spanish.
Training
In 1962, at the age of 16, Quiroga entered the
Seafaring School (Martin Garcia Island). The Seamanship School was a training
center for the Argentine Navy. It first functioned as a Recruitment Center of
the General Directorate of Naval Personnel in Buenos Aires followed by a brief
stay at the Río Santiago Naval Base. Later, it was established on Martín García
Island, where it operated for most of its time of existence. His last
activities were taught at the Marina Zárate Artillery Arsenal.
In 1965, Quiroga embarked on the Frigate Libertad on her third training trip. This was a nine-month trip and the first of them to travel around the world. In this way he had the opportunity to visit Los Angeles, Hawaii, Japan, China, the Philippines, Thailand, India and Egypt.
In 1972 he passed the Nursing Sailor Training
Course at the Rio Santiago Naval Hospital and two years later the Naval Nurse
Course taught at the Naval Health School of Puerto Belgrano. In 1977 he passed
the Technical Nursing Assistant Course in Traumatology and Orthopedics and the
following year the Master Corporal Nursing Course, both at the Naval Health
School. In 1983 he obtained the title of Professional Nurse.
Assignements
Angel participated in several UNITAS operations
with the US Navy. UNITAS are sea exercises and in-port training involving several
countries in North, South and Central America, conducted by the United States
since 1959 in support of U.S. policy.
Family
Life
On August 24, 1973, he married in the Civil
Registry of Punta Alta with who would become his lifelong companion: Rosa
Haydee Obregón, originally from Corrientes. From that union Héctor Eduardo
(49), Graciela Alejandra (48), Elizabeth Gisella (41) and Claudia Lorena (40)
were born.
In 1982, while his wife Rosa was pregnant with
their youngest daughter, he was sent to the Malvinas. 2
Participation in Malvinas
Angel Quiroga left for posterity a description of his participation during
the Malvinas conflict, which his daughter Elizabeth kindly sent me: 2
"A few days after the recovery, on April 5th,
the entire health team, of which I was in charge, was transported with all our
supplies on a Navy Foker plane. I felt proud and happy. After a 45 minutes flight,
we set foot on the Malvinas Islands. It seemed like a dream to me, but this
time it was a reality. When I was a child I studied books (Manual Estrada) and
on many occasions I had thought about what the Malvinas would be like. I had
always in mind the feeling of our first fallen hero
When we first arrived we settled in Moddy Brook and
as the days passed we moved to different places, on the hills of Tumbledown,
Williams, Sapper Hill and adjacent valleys.
Corbacho, Alejandro L-Malvinas:
Conscriptos navales en Tumbledown-Los soldados conscriptos durante la Guerra de
las Malvinas(1982)
Note;
Moody Brook is a small watercourse that forms a
valley and flows into the Puerto Argentino/Stanley roadstead, which is
effectively its estuary (expanded as a result of glacial action), located in
the east of Soledad Island in the Falkland Islands. It is located in the northwest
of the Falklands capital, and was previously the location of the Royal Marine
Corps barracks in the city.
(Corbacho, Alejandro L-Malvinas: Conscriptos
navales en Tumbledown-Los soldados conscriptos durante la Guerra de las
Malvinas(1982) 3
¨At that time I was a NCO of the Main Aid Post. We
set up the tents and dug foxholes to care for the sick and injured.
A setbacks was digging the hard earth (composed of
stones and peat), assembling the casemates and the expensive fox holes. This is
how we installed the so-called PUSO (Main Aid Post)
We had another disadvantage for both our team and
the injured: when it rained or snow fell, our wells filled with water which
forced us to dig caves everywhere like moles.-
With the Marine Infantry Battalion No. 5 (BIM 5),
we entered combat starting on May 1st at approximately 4:45 a.m., with one dead
man and seven wounded. Throughout the night of the same day, the English bombed
us with naval and aerial fire. The planes began to drop 1,000-pound bombs in
the Airport area in order to destroy the runway. The Sea Harrier planes, which
were later derived by Argentine forces, dropped 500-pound bombs. There were
incessant bombings every day, during the 44 days that we were on the islands’
soil.
The British bombed us with naval fire,
conventional, delay and cluster munitions.
In these 44 days, the English attacked with all
their artillery to demoralize the Argentine troops. There were wounded and sick
personnel. As a consequence of the low temperatures and humidity, some
presented the so-called trench foot. There was an inclement weather (water,
snow, rain and cold) and, another factor worth highlighting, was that as the
days passed, food became scarce.
The protection of the Argentine troops were the
casemates, the trenches, and the fox holes. The last three days before the
surrender the battle was fiercer in the places like Tumbledown, Williams and
Sapper Hill which turned those areas into a true hell. I remember a group at
night of the Argentine Army, that were with the cannons.A bomb fell, leaving
people dead and wounded. The very heartbreaking screams of the wounded could be
heard, asking us to please save their lives. My partner and I went to the place
to help them. In the dark and cold night, like every day, they completely
destroyed our main aid station.
Every day was hell, the English attacked by sea,
air and land, it was the hardest time for both sides. On the final day, very
early in the morning, Governor Mario Benjamín Menéndez, , gave the order to
withdraw the Argentine troops towards Puerto Argentino, but the BIM 5 Commander
Carlos Hugo Robacio, gave a counter order to all the companies of the Battalion
and a group of the Army, telling that until they ran out of ammunition they
were not going to retreat. So it was, we continued fighting, with all our
forces. Approximately after noon we began to retreat in stages towards Puerto
Argentino, causing many casualties to the English, leaving a trail of dead on
the battlefield. The conscript soldiers of BIM5 fought like true professionals,
alongside their superiors; my respects to them.
By the time we arrived at the Military Hospital of
Puerto Argentino, the war ended.
The Army and Navy Health Personnel were sent to the
battlefield again, but this time to collect our dead. At that moment I met a
colleague from BIM5, who had also been assigned to do the same task (the
English soldiers followed us behind and yelled us: “ARGENTINES NOT ENGLISH”).
We both hoped to find some survivor, but it was in vain, it was very hard and
distressing, such memory will remain in the hearts and minds of those of us who
survived.
When we returned again, very late, to the military
hospital of Puerto Argentino, we found outside and behind it, (approximately a
hundred meters away) a large number of KIA. An excavating machine was making a
trench, probably to temporarily deposit, our fallen in combat. The corpses were
of those who with a great feeling and patriotic spirit heroically assumed the
duty of defending our country until they lost their lives and such was the
cruel reality.-
Many years have passed and sadness invades me. I
have much more to tell, I think I am very calm now (a sine qua non condition
for a nurse in times of peace and war). I want to express that in Tumbledown,
Mount Williams and Sapper Hill, the BIM5 under Commander Carlos Robacio, gave
the enemy a great surprise: it was a great punishment for the English.
The value of the soldiers who fought for this piece of country must be perpetuated in the memory of all Argentines. With admiration and respect we must show them our gratitude, love and affection for that historical event, which we must never forget.¨ 2
(Corbacho, Alejandro L-Malvinas: Conscriptos
navales en Tumbledown-Los soldados conscriptos durante la Guerra de las
Malvinas(1982) 3
Aid Station-Of the 74 days, 44
were submitted to enemy fire-Photograph kindly submitted by late First Petty
Officer Nurse Angel Quiroga.
“As a male nurse I was in charge of the main aid station (PUSO) . My job was to help every injured personnel. I looked for them, brought them, assisted them and evacuated them.To achieve greater protection, we had dug wells
where we placed the wounded: it was the only way to save them from the
continuous English bombardment. There were twelve of us at the post: among them
the NCOs Víctor Palavecino, Miguel Arias and myself; all from BIM 5.
Since May 1st, when we had one death and
seven injured, the nursing work was permanent, very much like Dr. Ferrario, and
the two dentists, Lieutenants Suárez and Méndez. What really created fear and
anxiety was the ceaseless bombardment and the resulting casualties. The English
bombed everything, there was no respect for our Red Cross. Three times we had
to move the tents with the identifying Red Cross which was very large and
visible. Still, a bomb fell on one of those relief tents and destroyed
everything. We were saved because we were not inside at the moment.
We went behind a hill, at the foot of Mount
Longdon, but we were not staying still. We acted as soon as they called us on
the radio, and sometimes this was in the middle of combat, between bullets and
bombs. Yes, unfortunately, I had to care for wounded people who left us. The
most common injuries were caused by shrapnel, on the face, arms and legs. There
was a case in the battalion that moved me the most: It was one of those
conscripts with whom you get attached to, you see. They told me that he had been
wounded so I went to help him...When I arrived...he was dead...My God. His name
was Ramírez…” 6
(Sapper
Hill. Before the British attack. Conscripts Luis De Sosa, Oscar Campos,
Luis Orellana, Manuel Salvatierra,
Gustavo
Cajide, Alejandro Satragni, Ruben Pappes, Marcelo Salonio, Jorge Andrada, NCOs
Hector Palaveccino and Angel
Quiroga-(Kindly submitted by First Petty Officer Nurse Angel Quiroga).
Besides the
aforementioned, the Aid Station was formed by Navy Lieutenant Medicine Doctors
Jesús Eugenio Ferrario, Rubén Omar Abete, Navy Lieutenant Dentists Jose Antonio
Suarez , Jorge Alberto Méndez, Navy Lieutenant Biochemist Guillermo Pandolfi
and conscripts Hugo Maidana, Arnaldo José Melgarejo, Alejandro Príncipe, Ramón
Antonio Beresosky, Fernando José Serafini and Jorge Eduardo Galván. 1,4,5
Note:
Unwilling to abandon the hill, Commander Carlos
Robacio on Sapper Hill was
planning to counter-attack and drive back the Guardsmen. Only the personal
intervention of Colonel Félix Aguiar, the 10th Brigade Chief of Staff, brought
the fighting to an end. The
5th Marines worked their way back into Stanley, leaving the 2nd Platoon of
Sub-Lieutenant Marcelo Davis and 3rd Platoon of Sub-Lieutenant Alejandro Koch
of M Company to cover the retreat. The Argentine Marine companies withdrew
safely, only pursued by artillery fire. The Argentine Panhard armoured cars
also moved forward to the edge of Stanley to cover the retreating troops, and
to neutralize any further helicopter landings. Marine Privates Roberto Leyes,
Eleodoro Monzón and Sergio Ariel from M Company are killed protecting the
Argentine retreat. Six Royal Marines are wounded securing Sapper Hill,
including four Marines from 40 Commando, one Sapper from Condor Troop and a
forward officer from 3 Commando Brigade HQs. As the Guardsmen and Royal Marines consolidated their
positions, the British lost a Volvo BV-202 tracked vehicle to a mine planted in the Sapper
Hill sector. "We ran over a mine. I went up through the roof and
the vehicle went up and was turned right round by the explosion," recalled
Major Brian Armitage who was shortly evacuated to receive treatment. 1
Quiroga was repatriated on June 23, 1982 on the ARA
Almirante Irizar, arriving at the Port of Ushuaia on June 26 of the same year. 2
1987-In this year Quiroga was my Non-Commissioned Officer in charge in
the Health Department of the Marine Corps Command and Logistics Support
Battalion (BICL). Third from the left is
late SSEN Angel Quiroga who retired from
the Navy on July 1, 1988.
First Petty Officer Nurse War Veteran Angel Quiroga
Among his multiple decorations, the Honorable Congress of the Nation stands out, the Navy medal (Combat Operations awarded on March 16, 2007) and those awarded by the Municipality of Rio Gande, the Rio Grande Non-Commissioned Officers Club and by the Province of Tierra del Fuego.
Angel Quiroga died in Rio Grande, victim of a
prolonged illness on January 17, 2024 at 11,490 a.m. He had 10 grandchildren
and 2 great-grandchildren. 2
Bibliography
1-Battle of Sapper Hill. The
Trustworthy Encyclopaedia-
https://www.conservapedia.com/Battle_of_Sapper_Hill
2-Comunicación personal Sra.
Elizabeth Quiroga.
3-Corbacho, Alejandro L-Malvinas:
Conscriptos navales en Tumbledown-Los
soldados conscriptos durante la Guerra de las Malvinas(1982)(3/3)-Blog de
las Fuerzas de Defensa de la República Argentina-
https://fdra.blogspot.com/2012/06/malvinas-conscriptos-navales-en.html
4-Desembarco-Separata No 8-Apoyo de Sanidad en Combate. Fuerza de
Infanteria de Marina-Conflicto del Atlántico Sur/82.
5-La increíble historia de los sobrevivientes del último combate de Malvinas (Los sobrevivientes de Sapper Hill)-La Capital, 23 de junio 2013.
6-Testimonio del Suboficial 1º
enfermero Angel Quiroga / BIM 5-ZONA MILITAR
Mrs. Elizabeth
Quiroga
Argentine
War Veterans´División -Edificio Libertad
