On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the massacre in Kefalonia and Corfu, the Minister of Defense, Guido Crosetto, accompanied by the Chief of Defense Staff, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone and the Secretary General of the Greek Ministry of Defense, Antonios P. Oikonomou , attended the ceremony of the event which saw the "Acqui" division suffer enormous losses due both to the fighting with the German troops and to the summary executions perpetrated by the Germans after the surrender.
"There is no point in honoring if this does not allow us to learn and understand how to act today. Memory teaches us that even in war, rules of humanity must be respected". Thus the Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto, in his speech at the Monument to the Italian Fallen. "We truly honor the Fallen when we learn from their example. Today, from this place of pain, history teaches us that there are wounds that can be healed, fractures that can be healed".
“Today we remember the 80th anniversary of the Acqui Division massacre, one of the saddest and most painful events in the history of our Armed Forces, in which the values of the Republican Constitution are deeply rooted”. Said the Chief of Defense Staff, Admiral Cavo Dragone, who concluded by underlining: “Honoring the memory of those Fallen, witnesses of a strength, humanity and sacrifice capable of going beyond the temporal dimension, means honoring the Italy that we represent in the world today, through military operations and missions”.
The ceremony, which took place in the presence of numerous Italian and Greek authorities, including the vice president of the 3rd Foreign Affairs and Defense Commission of the Senate, Senator Roberto Menia, began with the laying of a wreath at the monument to the Fallen of the Greek Resistance located in the center of Argostoli, and then continue with a visit to the "Fossa degli Italiani", where the bodies of the executed officers were piled up.
The commemoration ended at the "Italian War Memorial", where Defense Minister Guido Crosetto laid a laurel wreath flanked by the Chief of Defense Staff, the president of the National Association of the "Acqui" Division, Prof. Claudio Toninel , by the veterans and by the Greek authorities.
The general of division Francesco Bruno, current commander of the "Acqui" division, was also present at the commemorative ceremony, with a representation of personnel.
