Olgiate Olona, June 26, 1959 - Commemorative events (2009)

Commemorative events of June 26, 1959

• Rewarded in 2011 with medal of the President of the Italian Republic •

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June 26, 2009 - The procession in the streets of Olgiate Olona

June 26, 2009 - Olgiate Olona mayor Giorgio Volpi unveils the stone in memory of the 50th anniversary of the plane crash

December 12, 2009 - Presentation of Alberto Colombo’s book in Olgiate Olona town hall

Commemorative events 2009

Alberto Colombo presented his book Il disastro aereo del 26 giugno 1959 a Olgiate Olona on January 16, 2009 in Castellanza (University of the third age) and in the library of Livraga on February 15, 2009 where he met the local authorities and the families of the four young men of Livraga perished in the plane crash (summary of the event in an article published in Il cittadino of Lodi).

Commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the plane crash

Friday June 26, 2009: the 50th anniversary organized by volunteers coordinated by mayor Giorgio Volpi and Alberto Colombo was a memorable day for Olgiate Olona. Many people attended the commemoration: about seventy relatives of the victims (coming from Livraga, Milano, Palermo, Bollate, Pioltello, Sesto San Giovanni, Maastricht, Chicago, San Francisco, Kansas City), the Deputy Consul of French Consulate in Milan, the mayors of Valle Olona Municipalities, representatives of religious confessions, military authorities (“Ugo Mara” barracks of Solbiate Olona and 2nd Air Force main warehouse of Gallarate), Italian Red Cross and voluntary Nurses, eyewitnesses and former rescuers (Red Cross of Busto Arsizio, Fire Brigade of Gallarate-Busto Arsizio, Carabinieri, former TWA employees at Milan-Malpensa Airport).
A private prayer took place at Maria Fermi’s grave in Olgiate Olona cemetery, then the main events of the commemoration followed: service of Italian Mail with special postmark affixed to the commemorative postcard, solemn ceremony (with texts in Italian and English) with procession from the town hall to the memorial monument, reading of the names of the seventy immortal lives, international ecumenical prayer of suffrage, naming of “via 26 Giugno” street, unveiling of the stone in memory of the 50th anniversary, Evening of memory in the Prepositural St. Stephen and Lawrence church (musical repertoire proposed by The Swingles, video of the song Olgiate Olona, 26 Giugno 1959 composed by Nicola Puddu); and then art (oil on canvas painting by artist Ernando De Dionigi of Olgiate Olona danated to the Municipality), poem (by Cristiano Comelli of Legnano), solidarity (“Ape” car for “Massimo Carletti” Cooperative of Olgiate Olona).

Presentation of the 50th anniversary commemorative book
Donation of the “Ape” car in memory of the seventy immortal lives

Following the appreciation aroused by the commemorative events of June 26, 2009, Alberto Colombo gathered the testimony of the relatives of the victims, rescuers and eyewitnesses, and wrote the book Settanta vite immortali. Volume commemorativo 50° anniversario 26 giugno 1959 Olgiate Olona (translation: Seventy immortal lives. Commemorative book of 50th anniversary of June 26, 1959, Olgiate Olona) - supported by the Municipal Administration of Olgiate Olona and donated to the families of the community. The book was presented in the town hall of Olgiate Olona on December 12, 2009: during the ceremony Massimo Carletti cooperative received the keys of the Ape car, sign of solidarity in memory of seventy immortal lives (which ended its service in 2016).

Commemoration of June 26, 2009

June 26, 2009 - Evening of memory, artist De Dionigi giving Olgiate Olona mayor Giorgio Volpi his painting in memory of the plane crash

Witnesses of the Commemoration of the 50th anniversary

Carlo Eugenio Cavallanti, Italy - son of Franco Cavallanti and nephew of Gabriele Cavallanti:

«June 26, 2009. Olgiate Olona, 5.33 p.m. Commemoration of the victims of the plane crash of 1959. While the names of the victims being read, behind us the thunders announce a storm coming, high in the sky - without having the vision - the noise of an aircraft engine, sirens of an ambulance in the neighboring motorway and the touch of church bells in mourning for the 70 victims. A series of coincidences linked in a moment (but is it really the case?), or maybe they were really up there to make us feel their presence? Me, son of one of the victims, child at that time, I experienced a moment of pain but with serenity of soul, because at that moment I finally found my dad Franco, I “discovered” him, I felt him “alive”, in such moment of mourning».

Emanuele Castelnovo, Italy - son of Pietro Castelnovo:

«Mr. Alberto Colombo, the Commemoration was truly up to its creator: it was heartfelt, sober and touching at the same time. I have to admit that - fifty years after the accident - hearing the name of my father Pietro mentioned in the middle of an entire community gathered around us relatives of the victims, on one hand made me feel the loss that I experienced in my life even stronger, but on the other hand I feel that all of us present have performed an act that fills - perhaps forever - a distance that no one tried to eliminate until now. My mother Carla would have liked to be present but I preferred not to subject her to another minor trauma: I informed her only a couple of days before the Commemoration but agitation immediately increased nonetheless. On behalf of my entire family I express a huge thank to you who really made a gift whose value is priceless: we will remember you forever and we will not forget your commitment, passion and sensitivity in dealing with this historical event in a completely unselfish way. I hope I could meet you again in the future and in any case I will be at your disposal for anything you need. Please express our thanks to the mayor because in this case I realized that what was done on Friday, June 26 comes from a sincere emotion».

Gabriella Sacchetti, Italy - daughter of Maria Fermi Sacchetti:

«Dear Mr. Alberto Colombo, I thank you very much for all you did for the Commemoration of the tragic plane crash and its victims. We are sorry we did not stay for all the ceremony. We think the monument is appropriate to remember the disaster. It was impressive to see again those woods that I recalled and thought back to very often. There I also found the particular smell of those days. It was also important for us to listen to some testimony by the people who were there on June 26, 1959. Gentlemen Landoni were really affectionate with us as well as the parson and other people. As you think, it’s true that we must not forget; but I am aware of the big effort that this commemoration required. Me and my husband Mario Napoleoni greet you with warmth. Thank you again».

Donald Edward Lueke and Rosine Lueke, USA - relatives of Donald Albert Lueke:

«Dear Alberto and Anna Colombo, me and Rosine want to thank you for all your kindness and hospitality received during our recent visit. We really appreciated all your devotion and work done for the preparation of your book and for the ceremony of last week. Your book is a true tribute to the victims, their relatives and the community. I’m enclosing a letter to the people of Olgiate Olona that I hope you will translate and distribute to them, maybe by publishing it in the local newspaper. I will get to work to find and send you any additional information and photographs that hopefully will be interesting for the update to your book. Many thanks again, warmest regards».

Letter to the people of Olgiate Olona by Donald Edward Lueke and Rosine Lueke:

«People of Olgiate Olona, Italy, My wife, Rosine and I recently visited your community to attend the Commemorization of the Air Disaster of June 26, 1959. We were really overwhelmed by your generosity and hospitality. We wish to express our gratitude to each of you, especially those who have worked so hard to establish, build, and maintain the monument itself and the ceremony of June 26, 2009. It was obviously a labor of love. The events of that fateful day in 1959 have joined the victims, their families, and the people of Olgiate Olona together in a “family” that extends across the world, with the hometown being Olgiate Olona. We would like to return someday; but even if we do not we will always hold the memory of visit in our hearts and you in our prayers. Sincerely».

Kathleen Ellis, USA - daughter of Frank William Ellis:

«I was almost 2 years old and my sister, Susan, was 3 when my father’s flight crashed in Olgiate Olona in 1959. Growing up there was very little information about what had happened beyond what my mother knew and passed on to us. When I was in high school I remember going to the library and searching through microfiche for any articles that may have existed and again found very little. Finally, I started a career in the airline industry hoping to learn a little more about who my father was and what kind of life he had. I have worked for Continental Airlines now for over 25 years. (...) Not having my father has been such a solitary thing, something family and close friends knew about. I had no idea the effect it had on the people living there and those involved in assisting. Until the articles about the 50th anniversary were posted I had believed the plane to have gone down in the city of Milan. My sister and I have talked about visiting Italy and if we had known about the June Ceremony would have gone then. We still plan on coming either this summer or next. Please extend my deepest most heartfelt gratitude to the people of Olgiate Olona on behalf of myself and my sister for the care and consideration given the victims at the time of the disaster and for not forgetting throughout the years. Knowing that there were people there at the site at the time that cared for those they had never met brings me a peace I carry within my heart now and always».

Ann Rey Clam, USA - daughter of Jesus John Rey and Anna Genova, sister of Manuel Rey, niece of Josephine Fuda and cousin of Domenick Fuda:

«Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the message you sent me in regards to the Conclusion Ceremony [of 50th anniversary] of December 12th. You cannot imagine the joy and comfort it brought to us to know that your wonderful town and Mr. Alberto Colombo’s books cared enough about our loved ones to erect a beautiful Memorial Monument and a book that also showed pictures of the tender care our deceased received at that time when we were so helpless and devastated so far away from our loving departed. It takes a town of compassionate people such as Olgiate Olona has demonstrated to undertake such a difficult task. (...) I am comforted by happy tears to know that my Father, Mother, Brother, Aunt and Cousin are remembered by all the people of Olgiate Olona along with all the others who perished there that day».

Maria Enrica Ciserani and Roberto Peschiera, Italy - relatives of Paolo Ciserani:

«Dear Alberto Colombo, we had to dispose of the adrenaline produced on Friday June 26 before trying to write a few words to let you know how much joy you have given us. Only by analyzing retrospectively the succession of the various moments of the Commemoration we can realize how much work and time has been put in its organization. Dear Alberto, surely Friday June 26, 2009 will be remembered not only as the day of remembrance for us, but also as the “Columbus’s day”, because we have to admit that you have been the main maker of the event, with your gentleness, intelligence, but also with firm conviction. Emotions overlap as we write these words; however for us the most touching moment was the evening concert held in your beautiful Prepositural church. My mother [Anna Rocchetta, note] has asked us to thank everyone, really everybody. We ask you to greet everyone, really everybody: the friends we got to know, but also those that we did not met, and the people that we did not say goodbye to - for unintentional distraction - when we left on Friday evening».

Maria Enrica Ciserani and relatives of Belloni, Cavallanti and Ciserani families, Italy:

«Dear Mr. Colombo, it is really not easy for me to be instructed by Belloni, Cavallanti and Ciserani families to express sincere gratitude for what you have done in memory of our beloved ones. Surely the “stone” that you mentioned also here in Livraga has not fallen into the pond: it has truly broken the “glass” of oblivion letting in unpredictable flows of memory. We are convinced that the sacrifice that you faced in this anniversary - really heartfelt and important for us - will be rewarded with satisfaction and success. It’s our pleasure and duty to express a huge and sincere gratitude to you. See you soon».

Angelo Capozzi, The Netherlands - grandson of Leonardo Armanetti:

«Alberto, I have no words to express my thanks for all that you and the people of Ogiate Olona made to realize the beautiful Commemoration of Friday June 26. A big thank, a big hug!».

Leonard Capozzi, USA - grandson of Leonardo Armanetti:

«Dear Alberto Colombo, I have just returned home after two weeks spent in Italy and the Netherlands. I wish to thank you once again for having organized the Commemoration of 50th anniversary of the plane crash of Olgiate Olona. You all have done very, very, very well and I’m so grateful to all of you. Luckily I will come back to Italy with my parents next year and we will meet again. Greetings to your wife Anna».

Ellen Fantoni Sellon Puccinelli, Italy - daughter of Eleonora Kraft Fantoni Sellon:

«Dear Alberto Colombo, with great emotion I’m receiving - even by Olgiate Olona mayor Giorgio Volpi that I thank - your invitation to attend the commemoration of the plane crash of June 26, 1959 which caused my mother Nora Kraft Fantoni Sellon death. As you can imagine that event at 17.33 upset my life as well as that of my family. I was 25 year old. It is with great interest too that I’m learning about the existence of your book ‘Il disastro aereo del 26 giugno 1959 a Olgiate Olona’ and I wish to express all my appreciation for this work that must have required a big effort to you. I’m happy to know that it has also given you much moral and psychological satisfaction. I would also like to thank the group of volunteers of Olgiate Olona who worked with the Municipality and the local Pro loco for organizing the solemn ceremony. I would be very eager to attend the ceremony but unfortunately I have to give up due to serious family reasons. Anyway I will be close to all participants with my grateful spirit and solidarity. I warmly reciprocate your loving hug».

Helen Downes, pastor of the Anglican Church:

«Dear Mr. Paolo Paletti, I have to thank you for the very warm welcome I received from you and from all the other people that I had the pleasure of meeting in Olgiate Olona. David Markay [pastor of the Evangelical Methodist Church, note] and me were really happy to have had the honor of attending the solemn and moving but at the same time compelling ceremony. I will never forgot that day. I am also very grateful to the Community of Olgiate Olona and to Mr. Colombo for the gift of his book which is really a wonderful memory of the event. I wish to thank you, who organized everything regarding my participation, and Mr. Omero [agent for the local police of Olgiate Olona, note] for his kindness and availability. It was really a pleasure to talk to him in my own language. I also thank the mayor for his speech so appropriate for the occasion and all the other people which I had the opportunity to speak to, as the parish priest and a nun who was carrying out her activities in the vicinity at the time of the accident. I visited Olgiate Olona website and I found it very rich and full of information, it’s really interesting. Certainly I will return as a simple tourist to visit your town with more calm and to see again the monument. A warm greeting».

David Markay, pastor of the Evangelical Methodist Church:

«Dear Paolo Paletti, thank you for all you did for the ceremony of June 26, 2009 in Olgiate Olona. It was really moving and meaningful for me... an unforgettable experience. Thank you, Peace».

Cristiano Comelli, Italy:

«Alberto, I don’t know how to thank you for the commemoration of June 26, 2009. I think it was a magical evening where not death but life sang; because those who perished in the crash need to be alive in our memory, in our thoughts, in our actions. I’m not ashamed to say that I cried; I was not a relative of any of them but this tragedy touched me deep inside: as I said, Terence thaught us that we are men and nothing of what is human must be considered foreign to us (“Homo sum, nihil humanum a me alienum puto esse”). I dedicate this quote by Socrates to you who incarnated perfectly with your commendable job for completeness, professionalism and heart: “A life without research is not worthy to be lived”. Thank you so much, and thanks to those who laudably worked to organize the Evening of memory».

Video testimony of Chiara Milani

Chiara Milani, deputy news director of Rete55 TV channel

Closing ceremony of 50th anniversary of the plane crash
Town hall of Olgiate Olona, Saturday December 12, 2009

(translation) Good afternoon to you all! I am sorry but some commitments previously agreed as president of Italian Junior Chamber International are not allowing me to be with you in Olgiate Olona today. My colleague Alberto Colombo asked me at least a video message; I’m recording it gladly and I hope not to bore you too much.
As “godmother” of Alberto Colombo’s first book about the air disaster of June 26, 1959, I would so much wanted to be with you today on the day in which the memory for the victims turns into a concrete gesture of solidarity for this town on which the disaster felt from the sky; this country was astonished to the point that for almost half a century it healed the wound which has ravaged not only the portion of land on which the fuselage crashed, like stitches of a suture that were never removed.
In fact I remember well how the area of the monument looked before Alberto reopened this painful page of local history: a narrow dirt road full of weeds where it was difficult for anyone to go for a prayer in memory of those who lost their lives there. Today, however, my feeling is that Olgiate Olona has recovered that space and that pain long suppressed.
Because it is true that the victims didn’t originate from these places, but it is also true that people here saw the TWA plane crashing, here they saw the mangled bodies of the passengers and they attended the closing of the coffins, the coming of distraught relatives, the funerals with the remains of the victims aligned in the church of nearby town of Busto Arsizio: images that cannot leave us indifferent and that - after fifty years - have brought tears back in the eyes of the people which I interviewed with the troupes of Rete55 at the presentation of the book and at the commemoration, events which became the object of our insights broadcast titled Vediamoci chiaro.
As a reporter what struck me most was the river of people who convened on the site of the tragedy on June 26, 2009. I remember the images shot by the camera when the procession proceeded as far as the eye can see.
As a journalist who closely has followed the events of Varese area for fifteen years, I know that it’s not easy to arouse such a reaction of mass in our people, so unwilling to show their pain.
Because there were of course the relatives of the victims come from afar, civil, military and religious authorities, school children and elderly witnesses of the accident. But there were also many people called by the genuine desire to share that moment almost to give it its rightful place in local history. Therefore I was not surprised that Alberto and the municipality led by mayor Volpi decided to follow up on this adventure, to go on with this job of research of documents performed with almost maniacal precision by the author of the book who chose every single word with care without ever lingering on the contemplation of pain, to avoid falling into a trap very insidious for anyone doing our job. Pictures of Italian red cross and others photographs accompanying the book had the important task to fix those moments that the only pen could not pass on.
Then I say hello to you and - as usually we say at the newscast - thank you for your kind attention.

Other witnesses

Carol Z. Perez, Milan, Italy - USA General Consul in 2009:

«Dear Mr. mayor Giorgio Volpi, I thank You for Your kind invitation to the commemoration of the tragic events of 1959 which will take place on June 26 in the town of Olgiate Olona. Unfortunately I will be unable to participate, because of a prior commitment. Anyway I wish to thank You for Your noble intentions and the decision to dedicate one of the streets of Your town and a plaque in memory of the victims including thirty-six American citizens. I am honored and deeply touched by Your decision, because this proves the strength and importance of the bonds between our two Countries. I take this opportunity to express my highest esteem and consideration, together with my best regards».

Leone Soued, Milan, Italy - Jewish Community President in 2009:

«Dear Dr. Giorgio Volpi, I am honored by Your kind invitation to the commemoration of the tragedy of flight of June 26, 1959, an event forgotten and yet as timely as ever in our age where the pursuit of the scoop and news win on memory and meditation. However I am sorry because I cannot attend the commemoration: in fact it is too close to the Shabbath entrance, solemn feast day for my Community. I take this opportunity to wish you a successful ceremony. Best regards».