A journey of no return: Those who gave their lives for their homeland remembers 41 Viennese residents who died in the Overseas War

This Saturday, as part of the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April 1974, the Municipal Council of Viana do Castelo presented the book “A journey without return: Those who gave their lives for their homeland”, a publication about the 41 people from Viana do Castelo who succumbed due to African lands.
The work now released, written by Rodrigo André Vitorino Vaz, remembers the combatants from the municipality of Viana do Castelo who died in the Overseas War. With a preface by Pedro Lauret, Captain of April and member of the MFA, it thus allows to immortalize those who left Viana do Castelo and did not return.
In the presentation of the book, the Mayor of Viana do Castelo, Luís Nobre, considered that the Overseas War proved “a social wound that continues, even today, to be very present in Portuguese families”.
“The lives of these soldiers were interrupted and, when most of them returned, they returned conditioned at some level,” he stated. For this reason, the mayor considered it “crucial” to interpret “what this war was and the consequences it brought to Portuguese society”.
“This is a book of quality, depth and enormous dedication that brings the recognition that our fighters lacked”, he also assured.
The Councilor for Culture, Manuel Vitorino, explained that the work, whose presentation is part of “Ler em Viana” and the celebration program for the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April, was coordinated by a young man from Viana, Rodrigo Vaz, born in Castelo do Neiva, with experience in works about ex-combatants, as this is his third publication dedicated to the topic.
The book “A journey without return: Those who gave their lives for the Fatherland” was presented by José Luís Carvalhido da Ponte, a former combatant in Guinea-Bissau, who expressed the hope that this work “makes us think and helps some to close this door, so that they can be at peace with themselves and with Africa”.
The author, Rodrigo Vaz, indicated that, in the thirteen years of war, between 1961 and 1974, around 1 million young people were mobilized and around 10,000 Portuguese fell in Africa, in addition to 30,000 injuries with physical and war traumas.
“Collecting testimonies from Portuguese people who participated in the conflict is fundamental to understanding the experiences of war and to recording the voice of those who never had a voice”, assured the writer, remembering the 40 Viennese Army soldiers and 1 Viennese Navy member who perished in the war. war.
Representing the Army Chief of Staff, Major-General Francisco Fonseca Rijo highlighted “the remarkable research effort, particularly in the Army Archive, that this publication represents, contributing to perpetuating the memory of these soldiers who served Portugal”.