The tragedy of Monte Serra took place 45 years ago. On the Air Force aircraft that crashed into the slopes just after take-off were traveling 38 boys, young men of the Navy, who lost their lives, along with 5 crew members and an accompanying officer. Among the victims also Giancarlo Poddighe, of Sardinian origin and resident in the Pordenone area.
The C-130H Hercules had departed from Pisa airport for an on-the-fly acclimatization activity dedicated to the students of the first class of the Normal Courses of the Naval Academy of Livorno. The impact against the mountain occurred in the territory of Calci, in the province of Pisa, due to poor visibility and low-altitude flight conditions.
Today, on the day of the anniversary, the Undersecretary of Defense, Stefania Pucciarelli, issued a note to remember the episode: "In the afternoon of March 3, 1977, the dreams of 38 young people just of age to live a future in the service of the nation as servants of the military institution tragically crashed against the slopes of Monte Serra, just a few minutes after take-off; with these young men of the Navy also tragically perished all the other occupants of the Air Force transport aircraft - the 5 crew members of the same Armed Force and the accompanying Navy Officer - on which these young people were living one of the exciting experiences of the adventure undertaken with the coveted entry into the Naval Academy ".
In September of that year, "to testify the strong sense of belonging and affection that permeated these young officer cadets, the other classmates not involved in the tragedy communicated the name and motto chosen for the course to the Naval Academy: 'Invicti, never defeated and never divided' ", added Pucciarelli, also underlining that" the current Chief of Defense Staff, Admiral Cavo Dragone, was at the time one of the 1st class students of that course. He is one of the Invicti and I am sure that in these years of his brilliant career he and his companions have kept vividly in the minds and hearts the memory of the friends of Monte Serra; ideally reuniting with them, as every year, on this day of mourning. The children of Monte Serra strongly remind us of the precious and sacred gift that is life, urging us to make good use of the time we are granted. In an instant, that dramatic accident deprived them and their loved ones of all the joys, passions, personal and work experiences that their young lives could have reserved: those who knew them carry their memory with them and a veil of bitterness in their thought of not being able to share happy occasions with loved ones lost ”.
