The coffins wrapped in the Tricolor carried on the shoulders of fellow soldiers, the guard of honour, the church packed with relatives, friends, colleagues, high civil and military officials. Great emotion this morning in the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, in the center of Rome, for the solemn funeral of the four soldiers who died in the accident of the helicopter engaged in the Eufor Althea mission, which crashed last Thursday in Bosnia.
In the front row were the Head of State, Sergio Mattarella - who then renewed his condolences for their deaths with "great emotion" - Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the Presidents of the Chamber and Senate, Lorenzo Fontana and Ignazio La Russa, the Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto and the President of the Consulta Giovanni Amoroso. Seated in the benches were several ministers and opposition leaders. On the altar the lined coffins of the Army Aviation sergeants, Simone Ruggia and Claudio Marchesi, of Lieutenant Franco Adriano Zecchillo and Sergeant Laura Procacci of the Red Cross Volunteer Military Corps, smiling portraits in the photos positioned on the coffins.
"Today the Republic is here. The State is here, united, without divisions, to pay homage to our four brothers" underlined Minister Crosetto as he spoke at the end of the mass. "When I went to Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday to the site of the accident, I was struck by the fact that the long-opposing parties in that land had immediately found an agreement: to build a monument together to remember our boys". "You are the best Italy and the best Italy must always be defended" continued the minister adding that "the State bows to them".
Shortly before, during the homily, Monsignor Gian Franco Saba, military ordinary, had defined them as "sowers of seeds of peace" through "the promotion of humanitarian aid, driven by the desire to promote solutions for the most fragile and to keep hope alive in populations exposed to aggression". Simone, Claudio, Franco Adriano and Laura - he stated - "have understood that dedicating one's life to service is a foretaste of paradise, true wisdom. They have understood that love for humanity in certain contexts requires dedication to train oneself to operate promptly and competently for the benefit of peace, of guardianship between peoples, of healthcare intervention in possible critical and emergency situations".
A long round of applause greeted the departure of the hearses with the four coffins headed to their cities of origin. In the square the relatives of the victims, visibly shaken, received the support of Minister Crosetto who approached and held them in a long embrace. "We will live to honor them" was the promise of some comrades. One of them said he last heard from Laura and Franco Adriano two days before the tragedy. “I was organizing their returns even though they were happy to be there,” he added.
While Captain Andrea Natoli, commander of the high representation department of the IX Lazio mobilization center where Laura Procacci was active, said he was "shocked". "I can't understand this loss - he admitted - when you lose one of your soldiers in this way you can't understand it. It's one thing if the enemy kills him, but it's difficult in this way". Simone Ruggia's childhood friends also arrived from Salerno, who for them will always remain 'Friccolo'. Meanwhile, investigations are continuing to shed light on the dynamics of the accident. The Rome Prosecutor's Office has acquired the black box which will now be analyzed.
