Memorial to the Emigrant Soldier
Check the pictures from the event here.
The Association of Azorean Emigrants (AEAzores) inaugurated, on July 25, 2021, in Praça do Emigrante, Ribeira Grande, a Memorial to the Emigrant Soldier. This Memorial serves to remember and honor all Portuguese emigrants who fought, or are still fighting, or who died serving in the Armed Forces of their host countries.
In 2021, the Centennial of the Return of the Soldiers fallen in the fields of Northern France, Belgium and other Theaters of World War I will be commemorated in the form of the Civic Altar that is the Memorial to the Unknown Soldiers, a concept that was developed in 1921. The Memorial to the Emigrant Soldier thus aims to continue this legacy, honoring the names of those who left Portuguese lands, in search of a better future, and served or continue to serve on behalf of their new homeland, while preserving, simultaneously and naturally, fraternal and identity ties with their homeland, Portugal.
Historically, the challenge of emigration has marked generations and generations of Portuguese over the centuries. Many, particularly the Azoreans and Madeirans, left for the lands of the New World, leaving their mark in the armed conflicts involving the countries of the Americas, especially the United States. Others served in combat missions in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, on behalf of France. Still others, having been born in Portuguese overseas territories, were forced to emigrate to South Africa after 1974, and took part in the civil wars in Angola and Mozambique. In this sense, the Memorial to the Soldier Emigrant is free of political partisanship concerning the causes in favor of which Portuguese emigrants have fought for centuries under the flag of their host country, focusing instead on the sense of patriotic duty of the Portuguese towards these countries, and on the Lusitanian identity of the children of Portugal.
Search our database of Portuguese soldiers serving in emigration countries here.
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