The municipality of Loulé remembered the Loulé victims of the Great War on the morning of Thursday, November 11, at the commemorations of the 103rd anniversary of the Armistice, which took place at the headquarters of the Loulé Center of the Liga dos Combatentes.
On November 11, 1918, the Armistice that ended World War I was celebrated and, as in previous years, «the annual commemorative ceremony took place, with the exaltation of the role of Loulé soldiers who fell in combat in the conflict that ravaged Europe and the world between 1914 and 1918”, begins by saying the Loulé local authority.
When the flag was raised at the headquarters of the Loulé nucleus of the Liga dos Combatentes, on Avenida José da Costa Mealha, repeated in front of the Town Hall, followed the symbolic gesture of laying down flowers in honor of the deceased combatants in the field of battle.
After the speeches, the commemorative medal of the campaigns of the Portuguese armed forces was given to the former combatants of the Overseas War.
The ceremony ended with a pilgrimage to the Monumento do Combatente, in Largo Bartolomeu Dias, in Loulé.
"To mark the 103rd anniversary of the Armistice is to remember a date whose importance and meaning has no borders or nationalities", emphasizes Vítor Aleixo, mayor of Loulé.
«It is to pay homage to the combatants, and in this case, the many Loulés (parents, children, grandchildren, brothers) who, with the sacrifice of their lives, in the fulfillment of their duty, and in the service of Portugal, fell on the battlefield, as well as the who suffered atrociously from the follies of war and who, for this reason, deserve the memory and respect of all of us», highlights the mayor.
The municipality also recalls that, as was the case in general throughout the country, «many were the people of Loulé who lost their lives, on the battlefronts, in North East Europe, in Flanders, and in Africa, in the south of Angola and North. of Mozambique, but mainly in the bloodiest moment for the national troops: the Battle of La Lys».
Manuel Costeira, responsible for the League of Combatants in Loulé, emphasizes the importance of commemorating peace and avoiding war at all costs. “Peace is evoked and celebrated. War is hated and deplored», he considers.
Vítor Aleixo also points out some issues that today threaten peace such as "nationalist movements, militarism, prejudice, xenophobism, racism and social exclusions" and says it is essential to find the lesson in past moments so that the same mistakes can be made. don't be committed again.
“To honor the victims of Humanity's madness during that dark period of our civilization is not to allow history to repeat itself”, emphasizes the mayor of Loulé.
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