TOWN SETTLES CIVIL WAR DIFFERENCES

Amidst the current acrimonious debate about the Historical Memory Law, the small town of Antiguedad in Palecia province has found a way of getting round the bitterness. A Phantom jet fighter has been placed at the entrance of the town to pay homage to two brothers who died in the Civil War while fighting on different sides. César and Augusto Martinez Campo were pilots and had enrolled in the Air Force in 1930. When the war broke out in July 1936 one was in the Republican part while the other was in Franco's part of Spain. Cesar died during a bombing attack on Santander and Augusto died a prisoner in Barcelona. The residents of Antiguedad decided to settle past differences by asking the Defence Minister to lend them the jet fighter, which was unofficially commemorated during an Air Force fly past last Sunday.