An amusing account of a Portuguese soldier’s first experience in combat in Mozambique during the Portuguese Colonial War. Published today by Soldier of Fortune Magazine.
The soldier is my uncle.
The SOF publisher says my uncle was very dashing. Haha.
The article is a republication of an original piece written years ago for the magazine.
First Chill: Baptism by Fire in Mozambique
Story from Jaime De Melo. Written by Royce de Melo
Things had been very quiet since my battalion’s arrival by ship in Mozambique in August 1970. We had been posted to various sectors in the north for three months, skipping from one post to the other before my platoon was exclusively stationed in Chioco, a village in Tete province near the Malawi border. We knew that FRELIMO (Front for the Liberation of Mozambique) was very active in these areas yet one month into our stay at Chioco we had seen no action.
My unit was from the Azores, the Cazadores, Battalion Independent & Infantaria 17 (Hunter Infantry and Independent Battalion 17). Even the young men of those Portuguese islands in the mid-Atlantic, myself included, were not denied the privilege of having an all-expense-paid trip to Africa…
✳️ The story: https://sofmag.com/first-firefight-mozambique-1970/
The photo above shows Jaime with captured weapons after an operation, which include Chinese SKSs, AK-47s, an RPD, and grenades.
–RdM
