June 8, 2013: Major Giuseppe La Rosa, Gold Medal for Military Valor

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In the face of danger, the oldest instinct of a human being is to save oneself. It is a primary, immediate, almost inevitable reaction. And it is even more so when the decision must be made in a fraction of a second, without time to think, without the possibility of calculating the consequences. These are moments in which rationality can give way to fear, instinct, the necessity to survive. But for Major Giuseppe La Rosa, it was not so. Farah, Afghanistan. A morning like many others, that of June 8, 2013. Then-Captain La Rosa had prepared for one of the many movements planned by the mission. He could not know that this would be his last day. Nor that, shortly thereafter, he would perform an act capable of embodying the highest meaning of heroism, altruism, and being a soldier. When an explosive device was thrown inside the vehicle he was traveling in, La Rosa chose to shield it with his own body, protecting from the blast the soldiers who were with him. "At that moment, values stronger than fear, deeper than instinct, higher than self-preservation itself emerged. He could have tried to save himself. Instead, he chose to sacrifice himself to save others. Not because of a blood tie, but for men with whom he had shared a choice, an oath, a mission. An instantaneous decision, but one that came from far away. It was the reflection of an entire life: a life inspired by a sense of duty, responsibility, loyalty, and the spirit of service. Major Giuseppe La Rosa of the Italian Army, Gold Medal of Military Valor, was a true Commander: capable of leading by example, always putting first the safety of his men and the fulfillment of the mission entrusted to him. On the day of his remembrance, on my behalf and on behalf of the entire Defense, my thoughts go to his family and to all who loved him. His example remains alive. His memory continues to represent the highest values "authentic of our Armed Forces." Thus Minister Guido Crosetto.