The remains of cavalry soldier Francesco Erriquez return from distant Oklahoma to his hometown, Spinazzola di Bari. The ceremony was held in the presence of the Consul General of Italy in Houston (Texas), Dr. Fabrizio Nava, a delegation from the Italian Air Force Representation (RAMI) in Sheppard (Texas), led by Colonel Gianluca Piccolomini, the President of the Tricolore Committee for Italians in the World, Giuseppe Clemente, and the Director of the Fort Reno Historic-Military Site. The event also saw the participation of a US military contingent and the local press. The tomb was found, by chance, along with those of seven other Italian prisoners, in the spring of 2006, by Giuseppe Clemente, who began the complex research to reconstruct the biographical history of these compatriots. Among the replies received from the various mayors consulted, the response from the Mayor of Spinazzola di Bari proved particularly moving, as he managed to trace the sister of Cav. Francesco Erriquez, who expressed her desire to have the remains of her late brother returned. The undertaking proved quite complex, and the intervention of the President of the Committee of Italians Abroad (ComItEs), Commander Vincenzo Arcobelli, was requested to speed up the bureaucratic process. He himself informed the Defence Attaché and Defence Cooperation Attaché at the Italian Embassy in Washington, Air Division General Gabriele Salvestroni, through Colonel Piccolomini, and thanks to synergistic work, authorizations were obtained, in a relatively short time, from the General Commissioner for Honoring the Fallen in War (ONORCADUTI).
Monday, 6th June, after sixty-seven years, the journey home can thus begin. The ceremony commenced with the raising of the flag. The flags of the United States of America and Italy were hoisted on the same flagpole. The emotion of all present was palpable. Approximately 40 minutes after the start of the excavation, the first signs of the wooden coffin appeared, and then, with great care and patience in the search, the first remains were carefully retrieved by Clementee and passed to Colonel Piccolomini, who laid them on the Tricolour (specially sent by the fallen soldier's sister) with which the casket was lined. The exhumation concluded, the coffin was transferred by the Air Force representation, followed by all present, to the vehicle that will take it to Dallas Airport (Texas) for its return, expected in Rome Fiumicino on Friday, 10th June, where it will symbolically receive the embrace of its family and its native land.
With simplicity, yet with due dignity, one of those many young men who gave their lives for their country returns home to rest in the land that saw him born. His presence will help keep alive the memory of all those who did not hesitate to sacrifice their lives for the creation of a free, independent, and democratic homeland.
Clip made by Sheppard's RAMI
