When Gonzalez was 20 years old, he took part in the Falklands conflict as part of the 6th Infantry Regiment from the settlement of Mercedes in the province of Buenos Aires. They arrived on April 12 and became one of the first to join the garrison.
The Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute dates back to 1690 when the British laid claim on the archipelago. Argentina has long disputed this claim, having been in control of the islands for a long period.
However, the United Kingdom has exercised de facto sovereignty over the archipelago almost continuously since 1833. The dispute escalated violently in the 21st century when in 1982, Argentina invaded the islands, precipitating the Falklands War.
Gonzalez now admits that he could have never have imagined that he would take part in the last great “knight's battle” as a soldier.
“This was the last interstate war. Today the states are fighting against terrorism and that is what distinguishes us from the rest of the soldiers of our time,” the veteran said.
Gonzalez was discharged from the Argentine army due to the injuries caused by frostbite and ear trauma.
In an interview with the Sputnik correspondent, Armando recalled one touching episode that happened during a flight from Rio Gallegos. There were veterans from both sides and at some point forgetting about their nationality the soldiers embraced each other and cried.
“They experienced the same horrors of the war as we did. Although, there was a winner in the conflict, but in fact everyone lost because we all suffered the same circumstances. Hence, the result of all this is that military conflict in any part of the world brings nothing,” Gonzalez concluded.
The war, which began with the landing of Argentine soldiers on April 2, ended on June 14 with their capitulation. The fighting resulted in the death of 649 Argentine soldiers and 225 British, according to Britain’s calculations.
Today, Gonzalez has returned to the Falklands Island with his grown son. He wanted to show the places where he fought and explain everything in detail. While showing around, he brought his son to a place where he came very close to dying.
“A bomb and a shrapnel projectile were dropped on us from a plane; I did not see it coming. Suddenly, the noise ceased completely, the wind, everything was silent. I asked the soldier next to me. ‘Do you understand that something strange is happening? There is no noise, something bad is about to happen,” Gonzalez recalled.
Then suddenly there was a thunderous explosion and they were all thrown a few meters away. After some minutes Gonzalez woke up completely deafened. He looked around and saw that the fragments of the explosive seemed to have plowed the earth scattering among the corpses. “The shrapnel went past us, it should have been our grave,” the veteran said.
Following the 1982 war, the British increased their presence in the Falkland Islands. RAF Mount Pleasant was constructed allowing fighter jets to be based on the islands strengthening the UK's ability to reinforce the Islands at short notice.
The military garrison was significantly increased and a new military base was established on South Georgia. The Royal Navy South Atlantic patrol was also strengthened to include both HMS Endurance and a Falkland Islands guard ship.
Relations between the UK and Argentina remained hostile following 1982 and diplomatic relations were restored only in 1989. The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the UK and Argentina to return to negotiations over the Islands' future, however, the UK ruled out any further talks over the Islands' sovereignty.
In March 2013, the Falkland Islanders voted in a referendum for the territory to remain British. Argentina however, dismissed the Falkland Islands' sovereignty referendum.
Nonetheless, the British government advised Argentina and other countries to respect the islanders' wishes.
