
1993 interview, taken from EPOCA
The Parachute Sergeant Major Giampiero Monti participated in the Italian mission in Somalia with its Regiment, the 183rd 'Nembo'. The 2 July 1993 was on the VCC hit by the RPG rocket where the Parachutist Pasquale Baccaro.
The same rocket hit him in the abdomen, causing him a severe wound. Here, in a few words, is how he describes those moments.
- Have you ever had second thoughts about your choice of life?
"I never had second thoughts, I always knew that a situation like the one in Mogadishu could happen. Our job does not involve quiet situations, for those there are other organisations."
- What did he think while waiting for help?
"When I was lying there on the ground, my life slipped away in front of me. My belly was in pieces and I wanted to be home with my family. The smell I could smell was theirs."
Silver Medal for Military Valour to Giampiero Monti
A non-commissioned officer commanding a paratroopers' squad, part of the Italian contingent sent to Somalia as part of the humanitarian operation commissioned by the United Nations, he took part with his unit in the combing of a district of Mogadishu. During the subsequent fighting, which was prodigiously provoked by Somali militiamen, while he was coordinating his team from aboard the armoured vehicle of which he was in charge, he was framed by snipers' fire but, unperturbed, continued the action. Following the explosion of an anti-tank rocket that hit the vehicle on which he was operating, he suffered serious injuries in several parts of his body, which also caused him permanent disabilities. Although profusely bleeding, with incomparable strength of spirit he continued to reassure and direct the men in his charge until, exhausted, he collapsed to the ground and was transported to a hospital in Mogadishu. A clear example of the highest sense of duty, high courage and admirable spirit of sacrifice
Mogadishu, 2 July 1993