{{short description|British Army Colonel}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox military person|image=File:Geoffrey_Cardozo.jpg|honorific_suffix={{postnom|CBE}}|birth_date=3 March 1950|branch=British Army|unit=4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards|rank=Colonel}}
'''Geoffrey Cardozo''' CBE (born 3 March 1950) is a former British Army Colonel, known for helping to identify the human remains of Argentine soldiers in the Argentine Military Cemetery in the Falkland Islands. A number of the Argentine dead had graves marked "Argentine soldier only known to God" after the Falklands War due to the refusal of the Argentine government to assist in their identification.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|date=2 December 2017|title=Red Cross identifies 88 Argentines killed in Falklands War|work=Deutsche Welle|agency=EFE, Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP|url=https://www.dw.com/en/red-cross-identifies-88-argentines-killed-in-falklands-war/a-41622492}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Duncan|first=Alan|author-link=Alan Duncan|date=26 March 2018|title=Relatives of Argentine soldiers killed during the Falklands War visit the Argentine cemetery at Darwin|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/relatives-of-argentine-soldiers-killed-during-the-falklands-war-visit-the-argentine-cemetery-at-darwin|access-date=2020-11-30|website=GOV.UK|publisher=Foreign & Commonwealth Office|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news|last=Midgley|first=Dominic|date=13 March 2018|title=British Army officer who never forgot fallen Argentinian soldiers|work=Daily Express|url=https://www.express.co.uk/news/history/931009/british-army-officer-argentinian-soldiers-dead-war-falklands-stanley-geoffrey-cardozo}}</ref> In the Army, he belonged to the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D7635085|title=Recommendation for Award for Cardozo, Geoffrey Charles|publisher=The National Archives (United Kingdom)|year=1984}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=31 December 1983|title=Supplement To The London Gazette|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/49583/supplement/6/data.pdf|website=The London Gazette}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Tozer|first=Nicholas|date=30 March 2018|title=A humanitarian triumph in the aftermath of war|url=https://en.mercopress.com/2018/03/30/a-humanitarian-triumph-in-the-aftermath-of-war|access-date=2020-12-01|website=MercoPress|language=en}}</ref>
In November 2020, he was nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize along with Julio Aro, the Argentine Falklands War veteran who joined efforts with Cardozo in the DNA identification of remains in the Cemetery.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Johnson|first=Jamie|date=2020-11-12|title=Falklands veterans who identified remains of unknown soldiers nominated for Nobel Peace prize|language=en-GB|work=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/11/12/falklands-veterans-identified-remains-unknown-soldiers-nominated/|access-date=2020-11-30|issn=0307-1235}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite news|date=9 November 2020|title=El marplatense Julio Aro, candidato a Premio Nobel de la Paz|language=es-419|trans-title=Julio Aro, from Mar del Plata, candidate to the Nobel Peace Prize|work=La Capital (Mar del Plata)|url=https://www.lacapitalmdp.com/el-marplatense-julio-aro-candidato-a-premio-nobel-de-la-paz/}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite news|last=Santa Cruz|first=Daniel|date=9 November 2020|title=Dos veteranos de Malvinas serán candidatos al Nobel de la Paz|language=es-419|trans-title=Two Falklands War veterans to be Nobel Peace Prize candidates|work=La Nación|url=https://www.lanacion.com.ar/sociedad/dos-veteranos-malvinas-seran-candidatos-al-nobel-nid2504703}}</ref>
He is the son of Frederick Cardozo, a British Soldier and SOE veteran.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news|last=Ortega|first=Matías|date=31 March 2018|title=Juan López y John Ward|language=es-419|work=Tiempo Argentino|url=https://www.tiempoar.com.ar/nota/juan-lopez-y-john-ward}}</ref> He also was Secretary of Veterans Aid.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":2" />
== Work in the Darwin Cemetery == thumb|Darwin Cemetery in 2007 Cardozo, a specialist in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and Spanish speaker,<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal|last=Perera|first=Verónica|date=2019-10-08|title=Malvinas y Derechos Humanos, entre sinergias y tensiones: una conversación entre Pablo Vassel (ex subsecretario de Derechos Humanos de Corrientes) Celina Flores (Memoria Abierta), Maco Somigliana (Equipo Argentino de Antropología Forense) y María Laura Guembe (UBA)|url=http://journals.openedition.org/nuevomundo/77273|journal=Nuevo Mundo Mundos Nuevos. Nouveaux Mondes Mondes Nouveaux - Novo Mundo Mundos Novos - New World New Worlds|language=es-419|doi=10.4000/nuevomundo.77273|issn=1626-0252|doi-access=free}}</ref> arrived to the Falklands after the war to provide support and to check on the morale of service personnel.<ref name=":14">{{Cite news|last=Pardo|first=Daniel|date=19 June 2017|title="Todo esto es mi culpa": el soldado británico que construyó el cementerio en Malvinas /Falklands y asesorará la exhumación de soldados argentinos no identificados|language=es|work=BBC Mundo|url=https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-40310108|access-date=2020-12-01}}</ref><ref name=":15">{{Cite news|last=Cociffi|first=Gabriela|date=20 June 2017|title=La historia del oficial inglés que hizo el cementerio de Malvinas: "Enterré a los soldados argentinos con respeto y honor"|language=es-419|work=Infobae|url=https://www.infobae.com/sociedad/2017/06/20/la-historia-del-oficial-ingles-que-hizo-el-cementerio-de-malvinas-enterre-a-los-soldados-argentinos-con-respeto-y-honor/}}</ref> As military engineers cleared the island of landmines, bodies were usually found.<ref name=":14" /><ref name=":15" /> Cardozo would then fly in a helicopter to look for the bodies, register the location where they were found and bury them.<ref name=":14" /><ref name=":16">{{Cite news|last=null|date=2018-04-02|title=El militar inglés que les devolvió su nombre a los argentinos caídos en Malvinas (Published 2018)|language=es-LA|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/es/2018/04/02/espanol/america-latina/malvinas-darwin-geoffrey-cardozo.html|access-date=2020-12-01|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
Then, Cardozo was officially charged with the task of locating and burying the remains of Argentine soldiers dispersed in the island, and the creation of a cemetery (in land donated by Brooke Hardcastle, a farmer).<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8">{{Citation|last=Sociales|first=CLACSO. Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias|title=Sepulturas argentinas en las Islas Malvinas|date=2019|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvt6rms2.32|work=Ciencia por la verdad|pages=137–139|series=35 años del Equipo Argentino de Antropología Forense|publisher=CLACSO|doi=10.2307/j.ctvt6rms2.32 |jstor=j.ctvt6rms2.32|s2cid=243265653 |access-date=2020-12-01|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=":14" /><ref name=":16" /><ref name=":15" /> To cope with this new task, he returned to London and assembled a crew of twelve men who would assist him in the Falklands, then came back to continue with the burying.<ref name=":15" /><ref name=":10">{{Cite web|date=2 August 2019|title=Malvinas: Héroes con nombre|trans-title=Malvinas: Heroes with a name|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9R9L_yL-YM|website=YouTube|publisher=La Nación|language=es-419|format=video}}</ref> The tasks started in January 1983.<ref name=":15" />
Cardozo found according to different sources between 230 and 246 bodies: those he could positively identify, he provided a grave stone with personal details.<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Molina|first=Federico Rivas|date=2017-09-06|title=La Cruz Roja termina la exhumación de soldados argentinos sepultados sin nombre en Malvinas|language=es|work=El País|url=https://elpais.com/internacional/2017/09/06/argentina/1504723695_835827.html|access-date=2020-11-30|issn=1134-6582}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Molina|first=Federico Rivas|date=2017-06-21|title=La Cruz Roja inicia la exhumación de soldados argentinos en las Islas Malvinas|language=es|work=El País|url=https://elpais.com/internacional/2017/06/20/argentina/1497978652_931084.html|access-date=2020-11-30|issn=1134-6582}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite news|last=Guerriero|first=Leila|date=2020-10-10|title=La otra guerra de las Malvinas|language=es|trans-title=The other Malvinas War|work=El País|url=https://elpais.com/elpais/2020/10/08/eps/1602144739_814322.html|access-date=2020-11-30|issn=1134-6582}}</ref> For the 122 he could not identify, Cardozo took the decision to carefully bury them, including personal items he would find, in the idea that his work could someday help in identifying the Argentines.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":10" /> He wrapped the remains in three layers of sheets, plastic and PVC bags, including a note describing where the soldier had been found.<ref name=":15" /><ref name=":9" /><ref name=":10" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":16" /> They would be later placed in a wooden coffin.<ref name=":15" /> The burial works concluded on 19 February 1983, ten months after the end of the war.<ref name=":16" /> For the construction of the cemetery, he contacted the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.<ref name=":15" />
Then, he wrote a report and sent it to the Red Cross, who sent it to the British Government, who would later send it to its Argentine counterparts. The families of Argentine veterans were not informed of the existence of this document.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":14" /><ref name=":16" />
== Identification of remains == {{Main|Argentine Military Cemetery#Identification using DNA}} In 2018, Argentine war veteran Julio Aro traveled to the Darwin Cemetery.<ref name=":9" /> He then went to London, seeking for British veterans that he could gather information from. There, he met Geoffrey Cardozo, who acted as a translator.<ref name=":2" /> He provided Aro with a copy of his reports, indicating the location of bodies in the cemetery, which became crucial for the DNA identification of Argentine veterans remains in 2017.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":9" /><ref name=":14" /><ref name=":16" /> [[File:Mauricio Macri with Geoffrey Cardozo and Julio Aro.jpg|thumb|President Mauricio Macri with Geoffrey Cardozo and Julio Aro, in 2018]] Then, a race to identify the remains started. Aro founded the ''No Me Olvides'' foundation (Don't Forget Me), accompanied with Cardozo and journalist Gabriela Cociffi.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /><ref name=":11">{{Cite news|date=2 April 2012|title=Roger Waters detrás del pedido de CFK a la Cruz Roja por los caídos|language=es-419|work=Perfil|url=http://www.perfil.com/contenidos/2012/04/02/noticia_0024.html|access-date=1 December 2020|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924121152/http://www.perfil.com/contenidos/2012/04/02/noticia_0024.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":14" /> They also had the help of Roger Waters, who used his time in an audience with then-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner to increase public pressure on the search.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":11" /><ref name=":12">{{Cite news|last=Santa Cruz|first=Daniel|date=1 March 2018|title=La historia detrás del premio a Roger Waters por su compromiso con los caídos en Malvinas|language=es-419|work=La Nación|url=https://www.lanacion.com.ar/politica/la-historia-detras-del-premio-a-roger-waters-por-su-compromiso-con-los-caidos-en-malvinas-nid2113004/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Cociffi|first=Gabriela|date=4 December 2017|title=Madres, un soldado y Roger Waters: la conmovedora historia de la identificación de los caídos en Malvinas|language=es-419|work=Infobae|url=https://www.infobae.com/sociedad/2017/12/04/madres-un-solado-y-roger-waters-la-conmovedora-historia-de-la-identificacion-de-los-soldados-de-malvinas/}}</ref><ref name=":16" /> There was, however, no real progress under the Kirchner governments who did not discuss the matter with the British government. The breakthrough occurred with the government of Mauricio Macri and the signining of the Foradori/Duncan agreement.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UK and Argentina joint communiqué: 13 September 2016 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/communique-between-argentina-and-the-united-kingdom/uk-and-argentina-joint-communique |access-date=2021-01-18 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref>
== Honors == In 1984, Cardozo was appointed ''Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire'' by Queen Elizabeth II''.''<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":13">{{Cite web|date=28 December 2019|title=Geoffrey Cardozo|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/3455450|access-date=2020-12-01|website=The London Gazette|publisher=Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood}}</ref>
In 2009, he was awarded a Mention of Honor by the Senate of Argentina.<ref name=":9" /> In 2018, he was distinguished by the Argentine Embassy in London, alongside Julio Aro, Gabriela Cociffi and Roger Waters.<ref>{{Cite news|date=22 March 2018|title=Malvinas: depositarán rosas hechas por Juan Carlos Pallarols en los cementerios argentino y británico|language=es-419|work=La Nación|url=https://www.lanacion.com.ar/sociedad/malvinas-depositaran-rosas-hechas-por-juan-carlos-pallarols-en-los-cementerios-argentino-y-britanico-nid2119634/}}</ref><ref name=":8" /><ref name=":12" />
In 2019, he was appointed ''Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire'' by Queen Elizabeth II for services to UK/Argentina relations.<ref name=":13" /><ref>{{Cite news|date=28 December 2019|title=El coronel Geoffrey Cardozo recibió una de las más altas condecoraciones del Reino Unido por su labor humanitaria en las Islas Malvinas|language=es-419|work=Infobae|url=https://www.infobae.com/sociedad/2019/12/29/el-coronel-geoffrey-cardozo-recibio-una-de-las-mas-altas-condecoraciones-del-reino-unido-por-su-labor-humanitaria-en-las-islas-malvinas/}}</ref>
== See also == * Falklands War
== References == <references />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cardozo, Geoffrey}} Category:4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards officers Category:Falklands War Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:1950 births Category:Living people Category:English people of Portuguese descent