El Salvador Civil War

Shortly after setting off, our 14-year-old campesino guide points to the side of a mountain, claiming that it is a secret tomb. Inside the crypt are the strung-up bodies of three National Guardsman and a civilian executed by the guerrillas the month before.

“The guerrillas have a special hatred for the National Guard,” says the captain. “I shall never forget the most horrible sight I have ever seen. I came across the corpse of a National Guardsman. The guerrillas had gouged out his eyes, hacked off his arms and legs, and shoved the mutilated torso onto a wooden stake. It was just like the French Revolution.” – Fourteen-year-old peasant army guide under fire