- Gianmarco Bellini
Gianmarco Bellini (Born
September 15 ,1958 inMontagnana ,Italy ), is an Italian Air Force officer, who served withU.N. Coalition forces and was aprisoner of war during theFirst Gulf War .Career
He enlisted in the Italian Air Force in 1977 and attended the Italian Air Force Academy. He was the redeployed to
Laughlin Air Force Base where he received his wings. Bellini has a degree inPolitical Science from the Federico II University inNaples ,Italy , and aMaster's degree in "Strategic Study" from theAir War College at Air University, based atMaxwell Air Force Base inAlabama ,United States .Overview
On the eve of the
Operation Desert Storm the Italian government deployed eight Tornado Fighter-bombers on the Gulf Theatre of Operations.On
January 16 ,1991 , coalition forces began concentrated air strikes on Iraqi military targets inIraq andKuwait .On
January 18 ,1991 an Italian Tornado piloted by Major Gianmarco Bellini with CaptainMaurizio Cocciolone as his navigator took off as part of a multi national 10 planes squadron. Bellini and Cocciolone were the only members of the squadron able to executein-flight refueling , while the other 9 aircraft failed and had to abort the mission. The mission profile dictated that the operation could be performed even by a single plane, so Bellini and Cocciolone went on. Their plane was hit by Iraqianti aircraft fire and they had to eject. They were captured by theIraqi Republican Guard , even though their status was unknown at the time.While Cocciolone was shown on Iraqi
television onJanuary 20 ,1991 in a propaganda video, no news of Bellini was given initially, and he was feared to be a casualty. The two were kept separate for the whole time of their captivity. OnMarch 3 ,1991 both officers were released byIraq . Bellini holds numerous military decorations including the silver Medal for Military Valor for his actions during Desert Storm.Bellini and Cocciolone were the only Italian
Prisoners of War of the entire war.Bellini was later appointed commanding officer of the
Ghedi air base.External links
* [http://www.pownetwork.org/gulf/cd024.htm Cocciolone's entry in the Homecoming project]
* [http://www.seatejectcolor.com/seat/stories/|Gianmarco Bellini recounts his history]
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