Revisiting the past

Identifier:  imarina:9258960

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/imarina9258960

Authors:  Bellot A

Abstract:
Private Ken Lukowiak was a member of the Second Battalion Parachute Regiment (2 PARA) of the British Army deployed to the Falkland Islands for the 1982 British-Argentine conflict. The veteran’s creative drive motivated him into writing down his memories, and writing helped him overcome his war traumas. This paper seeks to explore Lukowiak’s memoir as a work offering an alternative retelling of the Falklands War, based on a deep emotional framework, in contrast to the narrative of heroism favoured by mass media. His personal account emphasizes the psychological distress and detachment of a soldier in opposition to the supposedly exemplary and outstanding behaviour of troops as often portrayed in mainstream journalism during and after the armed conflict.