The War hero who landed in Andorra
Andorra la Vella – Source “Ara.ad”
The ashes of the pilot Kenneth Langley Charney, a pilot with successful missions during World War Two and who lived and died in La Massana, make their way from the Bosc de la Quera cemetery to Chacarita in Buenos Aires.
On the 9th of May 1945, V Day, the Soviet Union and the Allies won the Second World War against Nazi Germany. On that day, the Argentine Flight Lieutenant, Kenneth Langley Charney was in a bar with the French pilot Pierre Clostermann, over 33 years prior to arriving in Andorra. Both were celebrating the victory, whilst listening to the BBC, which transmitted the Paris and London celebrations. All of a sudden, Charney broke a bottle against the wall and said “it’s all over, they won’t need us anymore…”
This anecdote, which gives a clear image of what his job as a warplane pilot meant to Ken Charney, was explained by Clostermann in a letter to the Argentine historian Claudio Meunier, who was present at the tribute in La Massana on Saturday. Charney resided several years in the parish. Meunier collected his ashes to take them back to the pilot’s country of origin. Alejandro Covello, Commander of Aerolinias Argentinas and member of the Veterans Association, was also present on Saturday at the Casa Pairal of La Massana and explained the story accompanied by the rest of the argentine delegation visiting Andorra.
Charney was an RAF pilot and fought in the Second World War with the allies, demonstrating his qualities for the job he had been given.
