British veteran returns Argentine soldier’s helmet taken in 1982 war
A fellow Royal Marine veteran filmed the reunion in Argentina for a documentary called Hector’s Helmet.
Former Royal Marine Andy Gatrick has returned a helmet to Argentine veteran Héctor Pereyra, decades after taking it during the 1982 Falklands War, according to BBC Sussex. Gatrick traveled to Argentina to hand it back personally.
Gatrick was 18 when he encountered two wounded Argentine soldiers at Mount Harriet, where fighting took place on June 11 and 12, 1982. The Marines captured both men. He kept a helmet marked with the name Hector and eventually traced its owner.
Now 63, Gatrick flew on October 23 to Gualeguaychú in Entre Ríos province. Fellow Royal Marine veteran Mick Dawson, 62, accompanied him and recorded the reunion for Hector’s Helmet.
Dawson told BBC Radio Sussex that the men embraced at the meeting. He said Pereyra recalled believing Gatrick could have killed him when they first encountered each other. Pereyra also showed Dawson a photograph of his nine grandchildren and four children.
The 1982 conflict lasted 74 days and killed 907 people, including 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British personnel and three civilian islanders.
