SOLBIATE OLONA (VA), 11 NOVEMBER 2014 - This morning in Ugo Mara barracks, Headquarters of NATO Rapid Deployable Corps Italy (NRDC-ITA), a ceremony took place to mark the unveiling of a new monument dedicated to the fallen of all nations which contributed in the conflict.
At the ceremony, Lieutenant General Giorgio Battisti, Commander of NRDC-ITA, explained that the monument is a tribute to the heroism of those who died to advance the cause of freedom around the world and the common values such as courage , integrity, loyalty, honor and camaraderie.
Gen. Battisti quotes extracts from Rudyard Kipling’s poem ‘Recessional’: Lest we forget-lest we forget! as the central theme of today's ceremony. The date of November 11 is not accidental, because in 1918 this marked the Armistice at the end of World War I, a conflict where more than ten million lives were lost.
NRDC–ITA are proud today to testify that countries that bitterly fought the war 100 years ago, today with our work as an alliance, find themselves under the single banner of NATO for a better future.
This ceremony, in the context of NRDC-ITA takes on even greater significance. At the command in Solbiate, countries with different languages, cultures and traditions were once opposed. However, for many years they have operated side by side to fight international terrorism with strength and determination, and ensured that the universal values of democracy and freedom prevail.