An excellent report on Manuel Otero, the Spaniard who fell in the Normandy landings

@DefAviation ES 8·13·2022 · 22:25 0

On this website you have previously read the story of Manuel Otero Martínez, the only Spaniard who fought and fell in the Normandy landings.

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Born in Outes (La Coruña) on April 27, 1916,Manuel had already fought in the Spanish Civil War, specifically on the Republican side, being wounded in combat. After that war, and like many other Galicians, Manuel emigrated to the United States, where he ended up enlisting in the US Army, being called up during World War II. He was part of Company A of the 1st Battalion of the 16th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division "Big Red One", and landed on the Omaha beach sector on June 6, 1944, dying in action that day near the beach where he landed.

Manuel's story became known a few years ago when a niece of his contacted the Military Museum of La Coruña with the purpose of donating the zinc box in which the body of the Spanish soldier was sent to Galicia for his funeral. The Museum put Manuel's niece in contact with the bookseller from Coruña Manuel Arenas, who in 2016 published a book by Antonio Osende entitled "Normandía Día D. Manuel Otero Martínez: Un gallego en Omaha Beach" (Normandy Day D. Manuel Otero Martínez: A Galician on Omaha Beach), which includes the results of a great research on the history of that Spanish soldier.

The Youtube channel Tropa Guripa posted a video about Manuel in 2017, which helped spread his story. In 2020 a recreation group named after him was founded in Galicia. Last year, Tropa Guripa published a great reenactment of Manuel's participation in D-Day, made with the collaboration of Big Red One "Manuel Otero" Historical Reenactment Group. Two months ago, Tropa Guripa published a video of the tribute made in June to Manuel Otero in Normandy, before the monolith erected near Omaha beach in which his name appears along with that of his fallen comrades in that place.

This Friday, Tropa Guripa published a new and excellent report providing more information about the life of Manuel, interviewing one of her sisters and the niece who made it possible for us to know his story. It is a report that covers the tragic circumstances of an emigrant who, at only 28 years old, fought in two wars, and who ended up dying far from his home near the beaches of Normandy (the video is in Spanish but has English and French subtitles):

I congratulate Tropa Guripa for the excellent research and documentation they have done, and which makes it possible for the history of this Spanish soldier not to fall into oblivion. Many large television channels should learn from the great work that YouTube channel does.