The ceremony took place in Altolia, in the Messina area, in the presence of the family members of the Officer who fell during a training flight in November 1996. On 26 May, the ceremony for the dedication of the main square to the memory of fellow citizen Major Michelangelo Trimarchi took place in Altolia (Messina). He was an Air Force Pilot Officer who died on 12 November 1996 in the sea off Trapani Birgi Airport following a flight incident involving the F-104 aircraft of the 37th Wing's 18th Squadron that he was piloting.
Promoted and organised by the 1st District “Kalonerò” of the Municipality of Messina, the event took place in the presence of Michelangelo's parents and family members, as well as all the citizens of the small Ionian hamlet and various local authorities. Also present were the president and members of the National Association of Air Force Officers (ANUA) of Catania with their labarum.
The Italian Air Force was present, as well as with a pilot from the 18th Squadron of Trapani, with personnel from Sigonella led by the Deputy Commander of Sigonella Airport, Colonel Pilot Alessandro Amendola.
The President of the District Council, Vincenzo Messina, opened the ceremony with his greetings, the reading of the naming resolution and a moving tribute to the young Air Force pilot who had set off from that very small town to fulfil a dream and at the same time to serve the community and the institutions until the day of the fatal accident while he was training.
Other touching moments then followed, beginning with the unveiling of the plaque by Michelangelo's brother and Colonel Amendola, and continuing with the blessing by Father Alessandro of the local parish, the reading of the Airman's Prayer by a young pilot, and the playing of the Last Post by Maestro Antonino Bellinghieri.
Col. Amendola expressed immense gratitude and appreciation to Major Trimarchi's family for the vivid memory he left behind, together with his example of passion, professionalism and military ethics.
Major Pilot Michelangelo Trimarchi (Messina 16/06/1969 – Trapani 12/11/1996), driven by a passion for flight that led him to enlist in the Italian Air Force at a very young age, attended the pilot officer courses at the Pozzuoli Aeronautica Accademia with the IBIS IV course from 1988 to 1992. Following experiences at the Latina flight school and the US Air Force in Texas, his training was completed in 1993 with the attainment of his Military Pilot Licence. Selected for the interceptor fighter specialty on the F-104 aircraft, he returned to his homeland, joining the 18th Group of the 37th Wing at Trapani-Birgi where, following intense operational activity in defence of the airspace of the southern Mediterranean, he became formation leader and commander of the 83rd Squadron. He distinguished himself through his great qualities as a generous man and an excellent fighter pilot, to the extent that he was chosen as an expert pilot for selection to the National Aerobatic Team. On 12 November 1996, upon returning from a training mission, following a technical failure in the F-104 aircraft he was piloting, he met his tragic fate in the sea off the coast of Birgi Airport. A young life cut short in the fulfilment of his duty in the service of the Community and the Motherland. An example of professionalism, spirit of sacrifice, humanity and deep respect for the dignity and cultures of every free country.
