Salvo D’Acquisto was a Man. He was a Noble, Valiant Man. He served his Country as a soldier. But his nobility of character did not come from his military service.
D’Acquisto made his mark on Eternity at the cost of his own Life. And he did it to save his fellow man. He died like a well-known carpenter before him to save others.
After having served in the Italian Army and being wounded in North Africa, D’Acquisto was repatriated and convalesced in the Peninsula. Once recovered, he became a Carabiniere in Fiumicino.
After Italy switched sides in September 1943, the Germans occupied most of the country.
On 22 September, a couple of hapless German soldiers were killed, and others wounded when some abandoned munitions they were inspecting blew up in their faces. The Germans maintained it was sabotage. And the next day, they arrested and interrogated 22 civilians, trying to find the saboteurs. In true WW2 German military tradition and bolstered by an unfortunate order by Generalfeldmarschall Kesselring that mandated reprisals for sabotage.
Salvo interposed and tried to reason with the incensed Germans, telling them how it was all a big misunderstanding. The civilians confirmed their innocence. But the Germans wanted blood and made them dig their own graves. D’Acquisto physically came between the German soldiers and the Italian civilians, insisting that the explosion was accidental. For this, the Germans started insulting and beating him, and tore his uniform.
When the outcome became inescapable, and the German soldiers lined up the civilians against the Torre di Palidoro, D’Acquisto “confessed” to being solely responsible. He was executed by firing squad, but the civilians were released unharmed. The German commander on the scene was aware of his innocence, and dismissed the hostages with these words:
Your Brigadier died a hero. Impassible even in the face of death.
Such is the fate of brave men and women.
D’Acquisto’s fulgid reaction saved 22 lives the Germans were going to extinguish. That he did so clearly knowing he was forfeiting his life, is testament the human species comprises still of mature individuals who can be counted on to ensure its Salvation.
D’Acquisto was posthumously awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valour. He was given the title Servant of God by Pope John Paul II.
His last words were:
Se muoio per altri cento, rinasco altre cento volte: Dio è con me e io non ho paura!
If I die for 100 persons, I am reborn 100 times. God is with me and I am not afraid. Long live Italy.
Salvo D’Acquisto – 23 September 1943
Götterdämmerung 