The duty to honor 

The Mayor General Calixto García Revolution Square, in the province of Holguín, the scene of the profound tribute paid by the people, on behalf of Cuba as a whole, to the 13 combatants of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARs) fallen in the line of duty, was dripping with sadness on Monday.

The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, led the posthumous tribute ceremony, marked by the nameless pain of the families, and the duty to honor.

At seven o'clock in the morning, right in the space that separates the halls of the square, the first guard of honor began. Two hours later, the Head of State led the last one, accompanied by the members of the Political Bureau Manuel Marrero Cruz, Prime Minister, and the General of the Army Corps Álvaro López Miera, Minister of the FAR. With them, Joel Queipo Ruíz, member of the Central Committee and first secretary of the Party in Holguin.

The photos of the combatants had been placed there, under the shelter of six floral offerings, in the name of Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution, the President of the Republic, the FARs, the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution, the families and the people of Holguin.

Shortly after they were transferred to the esplanade. In front of them, men and women with eyes overflowed of tears, conscious that to honor, honors; behind, a flag at half mast and many black armbands. The mourning could be felt in the square, and even the silence, a wall that was broken by three rifle shots.

In his words of posthumous homage, Brigadier General Florencio Navas Guevara, Chief of Staff of the Eastern Army, emphasized the courage of the fallen in fulfilling their mission.

Of the young men, he said that they will always be remembered; they are part of the history of a great people. The whole of Cuba accompanies us in this moment of pain, he assured.

The Chief of Staff of the Eastern Army reported that, as part of the tribute, it was decided to posthumously promote the officers and non-commissioned officers to the next higher rank, and they were all awarded the Calixto García medal.

President Diaz-Canel and other authorities placed roses in tribute to the combatants, in front of a pedestal located very close to the photos. They were followed by the relatives. And in the sincere embrace of those present was undoubtedly all the respect and consideration of a country.

This Monday, Mayor General Calixto García, the feelings resembled a flower in the hand, a kiss to the portrait as if it were on the forehead, arms clinging to who knows what memory, the grief dressed as a mother, as a son... to the honor that anticipated death, to the survival in the history of the Homeland.