| Name: | ARTUSO, Felix |
| Born: | 5 July 1945, Argentina |
| Died: | 27 April 1982 |
| Age: | 36 |
| Cemetery: | Grytviken |
| Grave Ref: | D9 |
| Register: |
Felix Artuso was a Petty Officer on the submarine Santa Fe (ex-USS Catfish) who was shot shortly after the British retook South Georgia from the Argentine invasion forces in 1982. He was being guarded by a Royal Marine who had instructions to stop him trying to scuttle the vessel, received orders to trim the vessel and the Marine misunderstood his actions and shot him. A dreadful misunderstanding.
You can download the British Board of Enquiry Report into the incident (PDF 900kB)
The date of death on the cross, and in the BOI report have been are in question. Roger Perkins book ‘Operation Paraquat’ gives the date as 27 April 1982 and this is confirmed By Col. Guy Sheridan, then a Major in command of the land forces that retook South Georgia. However, Perkins may have got this from Sheridan. Other contemporary accounts show that people further away were already hearing about the event on the 26th, casting more doubt on this.
Felix Artuso’s funeral. Photo courtesy Fleet Air Arm, scanned from Roger Perkins’ book Operation Paraquat.
In 2022 Artuso’s two sons and daughter visited their father’s grave from a visiting cruise ship, the Ocean Diamond, along with some of his comrades from the submarine:
