The Chief of General Staff of the Spanish Army presents the families of the soldiers who died in Bosnia-Herzegovina with a book commemorating the 25th anniversary of the mission

Relatives of the deceased with the generals

JEME's speech during the event

The JEME presents the work to the relatives of the deceased

The JEME, the Chief of General Staff of the Spanish Army, General Francisco Javier Varela Salas, received in audience this morning a representation of the families of the soldiers who gave their lives for Spain in the mission that the Spanish Army developed in Bosnia-Herzegvina for 25 years. During the event, held in the Buenavista Palace (Madrid), he presented them with the book "Misión Bosnia. La ruta de los españoles", carried out by the Department of Communication of the Spanish Army (DECET in Spanish) and published by the Ministry of Defence.

For those family members who have not been able to travel to the Army's General Staff, the JEME has sent them a copy of the book, which, in addition to be published on paper, has been published in electronic format.

First of all, Lieutenant Colonel Ruiz-Lima, head of the DECET Publications Department, addressed the relatives and explained to them the purpose of the publication of this book: "The fact that 25 years later you were here and that the memory of your loved ones fought for peace in Bosnia would be alive". As for the format chosen to keep his memory, the lieutenant colonel said that it was that of a book because "we believed that the words, and the images that accompany them, would make the memory of our people more imperishable".

For his part, the General of the Spanish Army, General Varela Salas expressed the emotion he felt in their meeting and he sent the affectionate greetings and affection of the Institution to all those who were unable to attend the ceremony. He also stressed that the work given to them "speaks about companionship, exemplarity, a spirit of sacrifice, but above all about a spirit of service". And he added: "The Spanish Army wants your deceased relatives to be an example for future generations in transmitting these values. If Bosnia is a better place today it is thanks to the example and sacrifice of our heroes.

Arturo Muñoz Castellanos, Ángel Francisco Tornel Yánez, Francisco Jesús Aguilar Fernández, José Antonio Delgado Fernández, Samuel Aguilar Jiménez, Agustín Maté Costa, Isaac Piñeiro Varela, Francisco José Jiménez Jurado, José Manuel Gámez Chinea, José León Gómez, Fernando Álvarez Rodríguez, Fernando Casas Martín, Mirko Mikulic (intérprete), Álvaro Ojeda Barrera, Raúl Berraquero Forcada, Enrique Veigas Fernández, Sergio Fernández Sanroma, Santiago Arranz Gonzalo, Antonio Pérez Patón, Raúl Cabrejas Gil, Joaquín Vadillo Romero, José Andrés Ygarza Palou, Santiago Hormigo Ledesma and Joaquín López Moreno are already smiling at their familiest from the pages with which the Spanish Army wanted to pay tribute and preserve them in the collective memory for posterity. As the head of DECET Publications said: "Nothing would have been possible without you. Nothing."