The Air Force celebrates the one hundredth birthday of General S.A. M.A.V.M. Cesare Palmieri, “historic” Head of the Sparviero Course on Wednesday, November 1st, 2017. Who knows if the young Cesare Palmieri, who left Brescia, his hometown, for Caserta (then the seat of the Air Academy), on December 1st, 1937, would ever have thought of achieving the milestone of 100 years of life and, at the same time, becoming the Head of the Course for five generations of the “Sparviero” Course: in fact, he is the living witness of a century of aeronautical history.
The students of the Sparviero Course were called upon to grow up quickly and, in May 1940, anticipating the end of the academic courses, they found themselves catapulted, immediately into the Second World War, to serve the Homeland. Some to the extreme sacrifice: of the 266 Students admitted to the 1st Class, only 144 survived the perils of the war. The entire Course was able to achieve, heroically, 3 Gold Medals for Military Valor, 156 Silver Medals and 119 Bronze Medals.
Since then, five generations of the same course have succeeded one another, reaching the present day when the young participants of the Sparviero V course are engaged in their fourth year at the Air Academy and awaiting the award of the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade.
The Air Force could not but celebrate the 100th birthday of General Cesare Palmieri, the only representative of the first “Sparviero” course still alive: “100 years is an important milestone and the great Azzurra family wanted to pay their tribute to General Palmieri and his loved ones who shared the sense of belonging and the sacrifices that the very “status” of a military man and the duties inherent in our oath entail: a solemn promise made for life. Time has passed, as is the nature of things. But symbols and traditions were the true glue that inspired us to pursue, with tenacity and passion, new and ambitious goals, thus becoming, in fact, increasingly cohesive and increasingly useful to the country. All of this would not have been possible without the teachings of “older brothers” who were able to pass on and immortalize the essence of our way of being together. A wonderful alchemy that has led us to be what we are today: an Aeronautics 4.0 that is ever aware of what it wants to be while preserving memories and memory: in this time, beyond time. Best wishes from the heart.”
These are some of the words that the Chief of Staff wished to pay tribute to, on behalf of the entire Air Force, in a letter delivered and read by Air Squadron Commander Fernando Giancotti, Head of the Sparviero Course III, currently Commander of the Air Squadron, who is in charge of a delegation of the Sparviero Courses. This delegation, composed of all the Course Leaders, representatives of the five generations and the President of the “Gente del 15°” Association, reached General Palmieri at his Roman residence, where it was possible to celebrate the event thanks to the courteous availability of the kind wife, Signora Maria Teresa.
After the fascinating anecdotes with which General Palmieri wanted to entertain his guests, the festive day ended with the cutting of a cake decorated with the Corsi “Sparviero” flag and with the traditional “Gheregheghez” in honor of the Corsi Captain and all the “Sparvieri” of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
