Cross of Honor for the Victims of Acts of Terrorism

[Lukasz Gaszewski]

I think this is just the right section to put it up here, especially that the section is almost empty. On October 10, 2005 the Italian Parliament instituted a Cross of Honor for the Victims of Acts of Terrorism or Hostile Acts during Military or Civil Missions Abroad (Croce d?onore alle vittime di atti di terrorismo o di atti ostili impegnate in operazioni militari e civili all?estero).

This little known decoration is conferred by decree of the President of the Republic to the individuals deceased or permanently disabled (with over 80 per cent disability), as a direct result of an act of terrorism or a hostile act while performing a military or non-military operation abroad, provided the operation had been approved by the Italian Parliament. If a person is deceased, the cross goes to the spouse, children, brother, sister or parents od the deceased individual, or if there is not any, it remains the property of the community where the person lived. The first conferments took place on November 12, 2005, on the second anniversary of the terrorist attack at Nassiriyah, in which 19 Italian carabinieri, military and civilians and 9 Iraqi were killed. The crosses went to the families of the Italian victims of the attack.

The cross, 40 mm of diameter and surrounded by a laurel wreath, follows the pattern of the Italian commemorative crosses, but is gold plated instead of silver. The obverse of the central shield bears the Latin inscription "PRO HUMANITATE" (for mankind); on the reverse there is a five-pointed star for the military, or letters "R.I." ("Repubblica Italiana") for civilians. The 37 mm wide ribbon is light blue, with a stripe in the Italian national tricolor down the center. When awarded to a military, a gilt five-poited star is attached to the ribbon bar. It is not known if family members of the deceased are authorized to wear the cross, but judging from the fact that during the awarding ceremony the crosses were pinned rather than handed, it is very likely.

Unfortunately there are practically no images of the cross on the Net. This is all I was able to find:

A photo from the awarding ceremony:

Ribbon bar:

And the reverse: