Luciano Del Giudice , 86 years old, son of the engineer Sergio Del Giudice who escaped the tragedy of the sinking of the Onda, the steamer that sank off the coast of Asinara on 6 May 1943.
Eighty years ago the boat was hit by cannon fire from the enemy submarine "Safari" which bombarded the fishing boat on both sides.
The sailors went out to sea knowing they were risking their lives because days earlier they had encountered a submarine in the waters of the Gulf. They were not believed and since theirs was the only fishing vessel capable of supplying the city and the territory in time of war, they could do nothing but set sail from Porto Torres to meet a dramatic destiny.
At the end of that 6 May 1943, of the nine sailors of the Onda, only two returned home: the British submarine Safari had sunk the fishing boat with cannon fire off the Asinara.
Eighty years later, in the square dedicated to the Heroes of the Wave in 2013, a street sign was discovered with the names of all the protagonists of that tragic episode: Emilio Acciaro (sailor), Paolo Bancalà (sailor), Salvatore Fois (sailor ), Giuseppe Sandolo (captain), Antonio Striano (practical on board), Ciro Valente (sailor), Michele Zeno (fishing chief), Antonio Gavino Sanna (stoker) and Giovanni Sposito (stoker).
The ceremony was conducted by Mayor Massimo Mulas who unveiled the plaque together with a representation of the descendants of the Heroes of the Wave and subsequently placed a laurel wreath on it. In the moment dedicated to the interventions, the councilor for Culture Maria Bastiana Cocco recalled how that event represents a wound that has never healed in the history of Porto Torres, while Gavino Ruiu, city councilor descendant of one of the deceased in the sinking, spoke of all those who lost a loved one on May 6, 1943, explaining how that story marked the life and memory of many Turritans.
«An announced tragedy - says Luciano Del Giudice - because the submarine had been sighted a few days earlier, the enemy boat had ended up in the fishing boat's nets. It was Del Giudice himself who unhooked the nets and on the orders of the commander Sandolo they returned to port to warn the Captaincy of the presence of the enemy». They weren't believed. And five days later the Onda received the order to go out to sea to fish to feed the population. They had no alternatives: only to die.