Salvo D'Acquisto Military Legion
| Salvo D'Acquisto Military Legion (Italian) Legione Militare Salvo d'Acquisto | |
|---|---|
 Ribbon | |
| Awarded by the Federal Republic of St.Charlie | |
| Type | Military order with four degrees |
| Awarded for | "exceptional service and/or as a sign of respect and/or acknowledgement" |
| Status | Currently awarded |
| Statistics | |
| Established | May 21, 2010 |
| First awarded | May 22, 2010 |
| Total awarded | The maximum quotas: Legionario: 0 Ufficiale: 1 Commendatore: 0 Grand Ufficiale: 1 |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | Order of the Blue Star |
| Next (lower) | Meritorious Service Cross |
The Salvo d'Acquisto Military Legion (Italian: Legione Militare Salvo d'Acquisto) is a military decoration of the St.Charlie Armed Forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct. The decoration is issued both to military personnel and to military figures of foreign governments. The Military Legion (Grand Officer degree) is one of only two St.Charlian decorations to be issued as a neck order (the other being the Order of the Blue Star) and the only military decoration which may be issued in award degrees (much like an order of chivalry).
The Military Legion is second in the order of precedence of St.Charlian decorations, and on the SCAF uniform, it is worn before the Meritorious Service Cross. In contemporary use in the Armed Forces, the Military Legion is typically awarded to general officers, colonels, and captains occupying command or very senior staff positions in their respective services. It may also be awarded to officers of lesser rank and senior enlisted personnel, but these instances are less frequent and circumstances vary by service.
Etymology
The award was dedicated to Salvo d'Acquisto a member of the Italian Carabinieri corps who was awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor in memory of his heroism.
Background
Around the 8 September 1943, a division of German SS troops camped near some old military installation previously in use by the Guardia di Finanza, in the vicinity of Torre di Palidoro, which fell to the territorial jurisdiction of the Torrimpietra station. Here, on September 22, German soldiers inspecting boxes of abandoned munitions were killed by a bomb, probably set off by themselves. One of the soldiers died and the other was wounded.
The commander of the German division blamed the murder on "unnamed locals" and demanded the cooperation of the Carabinieri, at the moment under D'Acquisto's command. The next morning D'Acquisto, having gathered some information, tried in vain to answer that the death should be considered an accidental occurrence, one without any instigator, but the Germans insisted on their version of events and demanded reprisals, according to the order of Feldmarschall Kesselring a few days before.
On September 23, the Germans conducted searches and arrested 22 persons from among innocent farmers in the military zone. An armed squad of Germans removed D'Acquisto from the station by force, and led him to Torre di Palidoro, where the hostages were gathered. An interrogation was held during which all the hostages said that they were innocent. When the Germans again demanded to know the names of the responsible persons, D'Acquisto replied that there could not be any – the explosion was accidental, and the hostages or the other locals were utterly innocent. The Germans ridiculed, insulted, and beat him and tore his uniform. Suddenly, the hostages were handed shovels and forced to dig a mass grave for their own burial after execution. The digging went on for some time; when they were finished it was obvious the Germans would really carry out their threat.
D'Acquisto then confessed to the alleged crime, declared that he alone was responsible for the murder and that the hostages were innocent, and demanded that they should be released right away. The 22 prisoners at once ran away, leaving the officer before the execution squad. Salvo D'Acquisto was killed by firing squad at the age of 23.
Degrees
The Military Legion is divided in four different classes:
- Grand Ufficiale (Grand Officer)
- Commendatore (Commander)
- Ufficiale (Officer)
- Legionario (Legionnaire)
