THE
SIGNATURE SIGONELLA, SICILY
VOL. 29 NO. 43
NOVEMBER 16, 2012
cnic.navy.mil/sigonella
Service members from Naval Air Station (NAS) Sigonella joined local Italians to honor those lost in the Nasiriyah, Iraq terrorist attack during a special ceremony held November 10. (U.S. Navy photo by MCSN Cameron Bramham)
NASSIG Sailors join Italians to honor fallen BY MCSN CAMERON BRAMHAM NAS Sigonella Public Affairs
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aval Air Station (NAS) Sigonella Honor Guard along with other service members gathered at the Catania War Cemetery with Catania Faro Biscari Lions Club officials, Italian children from a local elementary school, and local military and civilian authorities to honor those lost in the Nasiriyah, Iraq terrorist attack during a special ceremony, November 10. Volunteers had the opportunity to participate and remember the 19 Carabinieri policemen who died in the terrorist bombing. NAS Sigonella Honor Guard member, Tech. Sgt. Jerred Mitchell said, “To be a part of this memorial is very humbling to me. We’re all in this together and it gives me great respect to be here to do this event.” The attack, which took place in 2003, was Italy’s heaviest military loss since World War II. The attack also left
nine Iraqi civilians dead and more than a hundred people injured. The memorial also remembered those lost in various battles which took place in Sicily during World War II. “This is the seventh edition of the memorial,” Catania Lions Club President Alberto Robelli said. “There are two reasons we’ve been doing this since 2005. The first one is to remember all of the soldiers who have fallen during the wars in particularly World War II. Secondly, we have kids from a Catania elementary school here to teach them about history and why our history in [World War II] is important.” As a local citizen of Sicily, Retired British Army Maj. Allen Batty was tasked with laying the wreath during the ceremony, read a poem about what a soldier is and does, and gave the exhortation or act of remembrance.
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Supporters for the memorial and cemetery including Batty believe it’s a great thing to have service members from NAS Sigonella join with them on a day they remember. “What delights me is to see so much interest in the cemetery,” Batty said. “Certainly until we got support from [NAS] Sigonella in 2005, there wasn’t a great deal going on at all.” NAS Sigonella service members who attended the memorial agree with Batty, and said it was very important for the base to be represented at the event because it shows our Italians neighbors that NAS Sigonella offers support. “We’re here today to support our local nationals and our British allies,” Mitchell said. “This memorial is for all three countries. We’re respecting the fallen that fought in [World War II] in Sicily and those killed in the [Nasiriyah] attack.”
OF THE WEEK
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.” - James Neil Hollingworth
Cassatella festival
David Chicken comes to NASSIG
TeamSTEPPS
Cassatella festival is this weekend in Agira.
Get to know children’s entertainer David Chicken.
U.S. Naval Hospital Sigonella “STEPPS” it up.
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