The Sovereign Council of the Order of Malta has posthumously conferred on Brigadier Giuseppe Coletta the Gold Medal of Merit with Swords. The Brigadier Carabiniere was among those killed during the 12 November attack in Nassyria.

The decoration, proposed by the Order of Malta’s Grand Priory of Naples and Sicily, is the acknowledgment of the value of the Brigadier’s work which was a highly valued contribution to the Order’s assistance to the Iraqi population, in particular to the children and families of Nassyria who received essentials such as food, medicine and scholastic materials.

The Sovereign Council, at the proposal of the Order of Malta’s Grand Prioriate of Lombardy and Venice, conferred the same honour on the flag of the 13th Regiment of the Carabinieri of Gorizia ‘in consideration for the contribution of all the Regiment’s soldiers who demonstrated a great spirit of selflessness, including when leading to their own self-sacrifice’.

This department of the Armed Services has long collaborated with the Grand Priory of Lombardy and Venice in supplying aid to civilians stricken by dramatic calamities, in Albania, in Bosnia, and now in Iraq.

We wish to remember the 19 victims of the attack through the words of Brigadier Coletta’s letter, sent to the Order of Malta during his mission in Nassyria:

An affectionate greeting from these truly unique places. This, my renewed participation in the Italian contingent of the mission ‘Ancient Babylon’, gives me great satisfaction. May my experience be of service to the Order of Malta.

Best wishes,

Giuseppe Coletta