Rafael Gómez Nieto (21 January 1921 – 31 March 2020) was a Spanish soldier and veteran of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Biography

Born in

Adra The Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRA or ADRA International) is a humanitarian agency operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church for the purpose of providing individual and community development and disaster relief. I ...

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city gr ...

(

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

), Gómez Nieto moved to

Badalona Badalona (, , , ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality to the immediate north east of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. It is located on the left bank of the Besòs River and on the Mediterranean Sea, in the Barcelona metropolitan area. By popu ...

, where he was called up to the "Lleva del Biberó" and fought for the

Spanish Republican Army The Spanish Republican Army ( es, Ejército de la República Española) was the main branch of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic between 1931 and 1939. It became known as People's Army of the Republic (''Ejército Popular de la Repú ...

in the

Battle of the Ebro The Battle of the Ebro ( es, Batalla del Ebro, ca, Batalla de l'Ebre) was the longest and largest battle of the Spanish Civil War and the greatest, in terms of manpower, logistics and material ever fought on Spanish soil. It took place between Ju ...

(July–November 1938). After the war, he went to France where he was interned in the Saint-Cyprien camp. Four months later he was able to reach

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

with his father, who was in the Argelés internment camp. After the invasion of North Africa by the Allies during

, he became part of the 9th Company (''La Nueve'') of the French 2nd Armored Division. This company, made up predominantly of Spanish Republicans, was the first Allied military unit that entered Paris after its

occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

by the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

. 146 of the 160 men in the company were Spaniards. Only a dozen survived the war. Gómez Nieto died on 31 March 2020, at a nursing home in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, France, from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

during the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. He had lived in that city since 1955. He was the last living survivor of ''La Nueve''.

References

1921 births 2020 deaths People from Almería Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in France Spanish military personnel of World War II Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in France Spanish military personnel of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) Military personnel from Strasbourg Spanish expatriates in Algeria {{Spain-mil-bio-stub