Skirmish at Many Branch Point On 10 June 1982 , during the Falklands War , Many Branch Point , a ridge near Port Howard , in West Falkland , was the site of a minor skirmish between Argentine and British elite forces . The engagement ended with the death of the SAS patrol commander , Captain Gavin John Hamilton . This action was the only land engagement of British and Argentine forces on West Falkland during the Falklands War . Background . While the 35 mm radar - guided and 20 mm antiaircraft guns in Port Stanley and Goose Green forced Sea Harrier and Harrier GR . 3 to carry out air strikes from high altitude , the Argentine garrisons at West Falkland relied only on 12 . 7 mm machine guns for their own protection , which left them exposed to strafing and low - level bombing . In order to reinforce these units , the Argentine command - in - chief deployed a special forces company , the 601 , to Port Howard , then headquarters of the 5th Regiment of Infantry . The commandos were equipped with British - made , shoulder - fired Blowpipe missile s . After a 24 - hours trip from Port Stanley , the company reached its destination . Some days later , with the British landing at San Carlos bay still ongoing , the Argentine troops found their mark when they shot down a GR3 Harrier on a recce mission . The pilot , Flt . Lt . Jeffrey Glover , bailed out safely and was taken prisoner . The Argentine garrison became isolated and the commandos orders were to collect information about enemy activity on the opposite coast of the Falkland Sound . In the meantime , SAS patrols had been active around the main Argentine advance posts . On 5 June , a four - men party led by Captain Gavin John Hamilton moved as close as 2 . 5 km from the enemy to gather intelligence around Port Howard . Hamilton was an officer in the squadron that raided the air base at Pebble Island on 16 May . The action . On the morning of 9 June , a routine reconnaissance patrol of the Argentine special forces , under the command of First Lieutenant José Martiniano Duarte marched to Many Branch point , a hill located 5 miles to the north of Howard . Previously , an observation post had been deployed on Mount Rosalie , but it had been compromised due to the British presence . Nevertheless , the Commandos managed to withdraw without detection . The squad was originally composed of 9 men ; by the afternoon , with no enemy in sight , five men returned to base , while the other four remained on the ridge . From this position , they were able to observe that a British airfield had been built near San Carlos . British sources state that Captain Hamilton was ' heavily outnumbered ' in the resulting action which would appear to contradict Moreno ' s account . The following day , while in position , Duarte heard some voices behind a rocky formation . The patrol gathered at the entrance of cave - shaped rocks , assuming that either a British section was hidden there , or simply they were local shepherds . Suddenly , a dark - skinned man , wearing a balaclava , was spotted . Initially there was some hesitation as some of the man ' s clothing resembled Argentine uniform , Duarte cried : " " Argentinos o Ingleses " ? " ( " Argentine or English ? " ) . After a short silence , Lieutenant Duarte ordered in English : " Hands up , hands up ! " . The response was a burst of fire , which bounced off the stones in front of him . During the engagement , an Argentine Sergeant launched two grenades , in response a British 40 mm grenade exploded a few meters behind the Commandos . Under the weight of fire from Duarte ' s patrol the British patrol attempted to withdraw down the hill . The commander , Captain John Hamilton , tried to cover his comrade , but was hit and killed by automatic fire and a rifle - launched grenade . The other soldier surrendered shortly after . The prisoner was a signal corps member of Goan origin , Corporal Charlie Fonseca . Although Captain Hamilton wore no rank or insignia ( as is SAS practise ) , he was identified by his dog tag . Also found upon the men were a radio , an M16 and an AR - 15 rifle , a beacon , cartography and a communications code . The other two soldiers of Hamilton ' s party managed to escape and were later rescued by friendly forces . Aftermath . That night witnessed the inaccurate shelling carried out by British frigates on Port Howard . It led to speculation among Argentine officers that the mission of Hamilton was to act as Naval Gunfire Support Forward Observer ( NGSFO ) . The autopsy revealed that Hamilton was killed by a 7 . 62 mm shot in his back . Another bullet hit his arm . He was buried at Port Howard , along with an Argentine conscript who died of starvation , a clear signal of the hopeless scenario for the Argentine garrisons in West Falkland . Hamilton ' s grave can still be seen up the hill from Port Howard . When the Argentine Commander of Port Howard was interrogated after the Argentine surrender , he asked that ' the SAS Captain ' be decorated for his actions as he was ' the most courageous man I have ever seen ' . In the event Captain Hamilton was posthumously awarded the Military Cross .