The Falklands War was about to end, but now 3 Islander civilians had also died.
Dear Fellow Earthlings,
On the 11th of June 1982 English special forces hit Port Stanley with a less-than-successful effort to wipe out the top officers, who were having a meeting at the police station. The missile they fired was slightly off target, so the damage inflicted was minimal. But the message the Argentines received was clear. British forces were now in town. The Argentines were now streaming out of the hills as they lost ground to the British forces. Now that they were longer in the mountains west of Port Stanley, forces in the capital were firing indiscriminately at the the mountians, where only British forces now remained. Naturally, the British fired back from the mountains, using the limited artillery they had managed to transport to the area. Caught in the middle of the last artilllery exchanges were the people of Port Stanley. Their neat little village had turned into a war zone. Harriers kept flying in. Among other damage they caused was the destruction of the few remaining aircraft the Argentinians had at the airport . From out at sea, HMS Avenger was firing into the town, always mindful that the crewmen manning the big guns should avoid lining up their cross hairs with Islanders' homes. Those aboard Avenger did their utmost NOT to hit any homes. But war being what it it, homes were in fact hit.
Just before midnight on this date, one such home, occupied by a small cluster of people who, having left their own homes due to various issues related to the war, WAS hit, resulting in civilian casualties. Among the casualties were three women, killed by the blast caused by a shell that hit the house: Doreen Bonner, Mary Ann Goodwin, and Susan Whitley. The people of Port Stanley had had enough. They were at the limits of their ability to withstand all that had befallen them. The Argentines needed to surrender. The devastation of the islands had now come full circle and was hitting Port Stanley in its very heart: its homes and its families! The insanity, fortunately, was nearing its conclusion. Steve Walker Earthsaver and Jingles Creator
© 2013 Steve Walker, The Jingles-The Japan Foundation for English Pronunciation, Summit Enterprises.