The nurses who dared to travel to the Malvinas during the war

Six instrumentalists saved lives during the conflict with England; soldiers still write them letters of gratitude
By Natalia Pecoraro | LA NACION

They were in their twenties and were surgical instrumentalists at the Central Military Hospital. In June 1982 they voluntarily applied for a call to serve in the Malvinas. A day later they embarked heading south and worked on the ARA Almirante Irízar Icebreaker, which functioned as a hospital ship off Puerto Argentino.

Marta Lemme and Susana Maza remember those days with emotion and respect. 30 years after the war, they can relive every moment and tell their experiences in detail. They acknowledge that they were afraid and very anxious, but they do not regret it. "Our function was to serve the Homeland and that is what we did," they maintain.

Marta had started working at the Central Military Hospital (HMC) in 1980. Susana, four years before. On April 2, 1982, when the Argentine landed in the archipelago, they asked if they could sign up to go, but there were no precise instructions. Furthermore, the woman was not incorporated into the Armed Forces with a military rank: only at the end of that year were her first promotions received.

In June, at the request of the Puerto Argentino Hospital, the HMC management opened a call: the combat was leaving people seriously injured and they needed qualified personnel for surgeries. "They told us that if we wanted, we could participate. They required people who knew how to prepare the rooms, the material, the apparatus...At that time, since there were no military personnel, the instrument technicians were all women and were civilians. The nurses who had a degree military personnel were not instrumentalists," explains Susana.

The call bore fruit: five nurses from HMC and one from Campo de Mayo Military Hospital signed up. "It was a quick thing, they told us one noon and we left the next day," she says. Marta adds that the family members had little time to digest it. "Sometimes they ask me what my parents said, but they didn't have time to think," she says.

At five in the morning they gathered at the HMC guard, on Luis María Campos Avenue, in Palermo. From there, Aeroparque, Río Gallegos, helicopters, the Irízar. They equipped them with boots, jackets, and coats. And they set sail for Malvinas. They synthesize: "Deep emotion, anxiety, uncertainty."

There were 300 military men on the icebreaker converted into a hospital. "They received us very well, they were very attentive. First they were amazed that we were there," they describe.

"When we got to the ship, the first thing I wanted to do was call my family to say I was okay. Until I found a radio to do so, I didn't stay calm," says Marta.

The first moments on board were uncertain. "I was afraid, uneasy. Nobody knew anything and that made me feel bad. I started to question a lot of things. Had I done well? Will I be useful for something?" she recalls.

"Once they told me where and how we were going to work, I was calm," she adds.

The nurses worked on El Irízar, transformed into a hospital ship. Photo: Courtesy Susana Maza

When they arrived at Puerto Argentino, the combat did not let up. The Irízar was caught in the crossfire and the captain made a decision. Susana relates: "They told us that our presence would be more useful on the ship than on land. The cessation of hostilities was already foreseen: we were going to join the line of prisoners."

"We shouted to the sky. We had traveled to be in the Malvinas, we wanted to go down and we were there, right in front. But soon they began to evacuate the wounded and the pace of work became intense," they remember.

"We were in an operating room, after a while we went to therapy, to post-surgery. You went from one side to the other and in full action, accelerated, you don't think, you don't complain: you act," they summarize.

According to what they say, the hospital ship was well equipped: intensive and intermediate therapies, several operating rooms, radiotherapy, portable radiology, hyperbaric chamber, clinical laboratory and dental office.

"The soldiers were surprised to see women. After the surprise, they began to open up, to have more confidence, they saw in us a protective figure; the sister, the mother, the girlfriend," they remember.

The faces of some injured people and certain surgical interventions are not erased. Months and even years later, they didn't forget either. "They always thanked us, they have written us letters. One even invited me to his wedding," says Marta.

The return from Malvinas was hard: the day they were informed of the cessation of hostilities they cried. Marta remembers a soldier who prayed the rosary. "Those things excite me. There was a mass and I unloaded. I cried, I relaxed. I still get emotional," she says.

Susana talks about an officer who moved her. "He showed us a chest with the Argentine flag and told us that in case of attack or sinking, he was going to run there to get it out, so that it would not fall into enemy hands. It's not that I'm sentimental, but today I hear a national song and I I'm excited," he confesses.

The group of women returned from Malvinas on the third Sunday in June. The next day they showed up for work, but were given a week's leave. Today, they continue to work as scrub nurses at HMC.