Antuco

Limited rations before the march A lack of military training No opposition from the mountaineering instructors to proceeding with the march despite the weather Ignoring the weather report predicting a snowstorm in the cordillera Zero knowledge of the terrain on the part of the conscripts Non-provision of proper alpine gear to the soldiers Only commissioned officers adequately equipped for the march Some conscripts’ combat clothing soaked to the waist from an attempted crossing of El Volcán creek within a kilometer of the starting point. No order given to abort the march Soldiers lacking compasses, maps, watches or any other means of orientation Each conscript’s pack and gun weighing close to forty kilos. Weight increasing during the march as it is soaked by meltwater Snow covering the trail, leaving only faint marks from trucks and earlier marches The company’s radio, the sole means of communicating with the shelters, fails. It is impossible to call for help or to abort the Andino company’s march, which begins four hours after the Morteros company The tragedy is attributed to natural causes

 

 

0543    A headwind blows against the march             Crashing straight on into the soldiers             Those at the front of the line take a direct hit of upswept snow             Those behind are not spared the blast             The wind manages to hit them all equally             There’s no place no range beyond its wrath

            Every one of the marchers knows that he shouldn’t be here             But no one turns back, they let themselves be swept on by the wind

 

 

Whiteout is described by alpine specialists as If one were inside of a car without a windshield in the middle of a rainstorm Like marching inside of a sandstorm The ground level wind lifts clouds of snow And smacks them at high speed against exposed parts Face and neck receive the filaments like needles Visibility remains reduced to between 30 and 50 centimeters The pain impedes their looking up, walking upright The snow is encrusted on their clothing worsening the hypothermia The soldiers walk hand in hand, encouraging each other They yell, insult, hit each other to make their way through the storm The conscripts who lag behind the column lose the way They continue on alone, walking blindly They are the last to be found

 

 

1000    Conscript soldier Hernández is the first to feel the effects of hypothermia             Fatigue. Joint pain. Low blood pressure. Dehydration. Sleepiness             He falls to the ground. He is revived and relieved of his rucksack             He is transferred to a makeshift stretcher             For a couple of kilometers in the middle of the storm

 

 

1135    Some of the Morteros sit in the snow awaiting help             They know that the Andino company is on its way             Even if they will be just as unprotected

            After less than an hour of inactivity the ice begins to climb up their legs             They begin to lose flexibility in their fingers             They can’t feel their calves             Their instep is stiff             Each time it’s more difficult to flex their feet             The flesh has hardened             It is in the process of freezing             To step is to hit the ground with an inert slab disassociated from the body

            The legs are useless for the rest of the march

 

 

1145    The first encounter between the Morteros and Andino companies                                                          is a body tossed on the trail             The Andinos think that it is a mannequin, a scarecrow                                                          in a combat uniform on the snow             A joke among the officers to frighten them             The second body doesn’t intimidate them either             It’s hardly noticed amid the advance of the vanguard section             Finally the fifth doll registers

                                                         It speaks

            Through the chattering they understand the word help             And just then the Andinos understand the situation             They check the vital signs of the straggling Morteros             They dig a foxhole where they can leave the troops to await a rescue             Called in on a broken radio

 

 

The sound of the soft snow crunching under the boots The sound of the flakes accumulating into the vast density The sound of the whiteout and its eternal and omnipresent gusting The sound of the chattering of teeth The sound of the indecipherable babbling The sound of the falling, the caving, the collapsing, the sliding Then no sound Then, again, the wind

 

 

----    Those who try to help the fallen argue with the dying           Leave me. Save yourself. Keep walking           The final words of the soldier who doesn’t get up are true and reasonable           Those that hear these words reject them at first           Then they assent with a resigned silence           And continue their march leaving behind the still-breathing man           They know that the cold is an agony that touches everyone equally

 

 

Come back, come back No one’s died on me yet Come back, come back, come back

----    Despite the thirst and fatigue           The pauses in the march must be nonexistent or brief           Remaining inactive in the whiteout results in a rapid rise in hypothermia           Two or three minutes is enough for numbness and deep sleep to kick in           Making it impossible to have energy to return to the trail           The fallen shrink into themselves, searching for heat in an unbearable fatigue           The majority die in the fetal position

 

 

Fetal position – Elbows tucked – Face down – Laid in holes dug out by the same soldiers – Sitting gripping their weapons – Hugging themselves – Face up, hands across the chest

 

En route Andino finds the Morteros shelters Inside groups of two to five soldiers, the majority dead Offering them help is impossible or useless The trauma of the survivors lies in their own statements

I could have done something and I didn’t They asked me for water and I didn’t stop If I had stopped I also would have ended up freezing there It was me or him You couldn’t, the order was to keep going

 

 

----    After twenty kilometers of marching the           Universidad de Concepción outpost appears           Concrete walls without doors, windows or anything to keep the heat           The conscripts have the order to destroy what little remains of it           The guns are finally useful in breaking apart rafters and floorboards           Burn everything. Burn it down, soldier            These are orders from the officers while the conscripts strip           Shedding their soaked clothes           Rubbing themselves, slapping their legs together           They dance naked before the fire until dawn

 

 

----    The march’s final kilometers are every man for himself            For some of the officers there are no chains of command, responsibility for                                               their subordinates           They decouple themselves from the soldiers in their charge and form an elite troop           A platoon of green berets with knowledge of logistics and mountaineering           Equipped with combat gear tested to subzero temperatures           Each conscript is cut adrift           What remains of the company advances through the storm by their own means           Some haul their comrades most affected by hypothermia behind them           Others form small groups to support one another           And lead on without knowing if they are on the right path           Some go it alone as though this were a competition

          None of these methods is without its losses

          The colonel in charge of the regiment will say afterward           The tragedy was a test where the strongest survived

 

 

I wanted to come here as president of Chile to say goodbye to these soldiers. Destiny had it that on a 21st of May like today another Chilean also passed on as a hero. Arturo Prat and his men died as war heroes. Today we say goodbye to these soldiers as heroes of peace

 

 

The first thirteen conscripts recovered receive a state funeral The President of the Republic, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army bestow honors They deliver a Chilean flag to each of the mothers of the deceased While the families of those who are still missing watch the scene The President of the Republic promises the mourners that justice will be served Let fall who may

 

 

Sanctions According to Army Internal Summary

Major Cereceda: Discharged Colonel Mercado: Discharged Lieutenant Colonel Pineda: Discharged Captain Gutiérrez: 3 days arrest and detention Captain Olivares: 5 days arrest and detention NCO Grandón: 7 days arrest and detention Second Sergeant Tolosa: 7 days arrest and detention Corporal Hernández: 10 days arrest and detention

For crimes of dereliction of military duties and the quasi-crime of homicide

5 years and a day 3 years with conditional release 541 days with conditional release Sentence reduced to 800 days Acquitted Acquitted Acquitted Acquitted

 

 

 

I raised the question, I said to him why did these soldiers, only soldiers, have to die and not a single NCO, not a single lieutenant and he told me that they weren’t prepared, that the kids don’t even know how to wash a spoon, he said, let alone polish shoes and we, he said, brought them out there to learn how to be men, that’s what he said. That’s why we brought them out there. And I said to him why do you go out there totally equipped and the soldiers not. And he stayed blank-faced and didn’t say anything back to me. And I said to him everyone here is at fault, not just one specific person. And he said no, it was nature

 

 

Lumbar injuries – Fluid in the knees – Mental lapses – Hallucinations – Beginnings of schizophrenia – Depression – Burns on the bottoms of feet and palms – Inability to exert force or lift weight – Personality disorders – Alcoholism – Muscular fatigue – Damaged joints – Suicide attempts – Post-traumatic stress

 

 

 

 

 

 

One third of the tragedy’s survivors remain in the Army’s ranks today

 

They weren’t heroes