Ramon Vila Capdevila

Vila was born in 1908 in a small village called Peguera in the comarca (roughly translated as "shire") of Berguedà, Catalonia. When he was very young, Vila was nearly struck by lightning, which gave him the facial scars which earned him the nickname Caraquemada. The lightning strike killed his mother, who was hiding with him from a storm. On 18 July 1936, after the Nationalist uprising, the prisons were opened to gain fighters to put down the uprising. Vila was released, joined the fighting, and was later made a commandant in the Carabinero Corps. Vila also held the post of Supplies Delegate at the factory he worked at in Fígols. ==Post-civil war==

Following the Nationalist victory over the Second Spanish Republic in 1939, Vila crossed the French border, to be interned at the concentration camp in Argelès-sur-Mer. However, the following year, Vila escaped, and returned to Spain. At this point, Vila formed a clandestine resistance group. Not long after, Vila returned to Vichy France to acquire supplies, and was arrested by Germans, who were by this point occupying France. The battalion that Vila was a member of was incorporated into the Free French 2nd Armored Division, led by General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque. Following the end of World War II, Vila primarily operated in the Catalan counties of Alt Llobregat and Baix Llobregat. As his last act of resistance before his death, Vila destroyed transmission towers on 2 August 1963 near Manresa. ==Death==

On 7 August 1963, Vila was confronted by three Guardia Civil officers near a castle in Balsareny. When hailed by the officers Vila opened fire at them; they returned fire, shooting him in the heart. No policeman was injured. The official press release announcing his death referred to Vila as a "bandit". Vila was buried in Fígols. On 15 July 2000, a plaque was placed at the burial site of Vila which reads == See also ==