Abdón Calderón

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Abdón Calderón Garaycoa (born July 30, 1804 in Cuenca , † June 7, 1822 in Quito ) was a hero in Ecuador's struggle for independence against Spain .

Life

In the battle of the Pichincha , a volcano in the immediate vicinity of Quito , on May 24th, 1822 - at the age of 17 - he was the standard bearer and thus the moral bearer of the Ecuadorian troops . The Spaniards shot his arm off, whereupon he took the flag in the other hand. When it was shot down, he held the flag with his right leg, then with his left foot and finally with his mouth. The fight was over, but the flag hadn't fallen. Abdón Calderón succumbed to his injuries a few days later, but the saying still applies today. Abdón Calderón died in the Battle of Pichincha, but he lives on in our hearts .

In Cuenca today a monument in Parque Abdón Calderón commemorates the battle and Abdón Calderón. The park is located in the central square of the city. A district in the capital Quito was also named after him.

One of the highest honors in Ecuador is the Abdón Calderón Order (Orden Ecuatoriana de la Gran Cruz de Abdón Calderón), which was awarded to Reinhard Gehlen , Douglas MacArthur or Dwight D. Eisenhower , for example .

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