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WWI Italian Military Records

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  • Member since
    July 2013
Posted by DURR on Wednesday, July 30, 2014 8:52 AM

my grand father was a ww i vet in the italian army  he also was a pow  

he had 5 medals from his service  he died in 93  in 96  he got  ( my grandmother actually) a letter from the italian gov  stating that they had failed to issue a medal he was intitled to  it came shortly after that

  • Member since
    July 2014
Posted by Alberto on Friday, July 25, 2014 10:11 AM

Hi Terry,

I looked around a bit and have identified 4 of those medals.

I'll list them out as they are positioned in the last picture, the one with the frame.

Top medal - It must be a "Distintivo per le fatiche di guerra" as described here (Italian only, sorry). I am not 100% sure, but given the Allied Victory Medal to the right, I assume that's it.

Top left  - "Ordine di Vittorio Veneto". Details. Awarded to all who had a War Merit Cross and had fought at least 6 months in WWI and were still alive in 1968, when the order was established.

Top right - "Medaglia Interalleata della Vittoria". Details. Awarded to all who had a "Distintivo per le fatiche di guerra". 

Bottom left - "Medaglia commemorativa della guerra italo-austriaca 1915-1918". Details (Italian only).  Awarded to all who had fought for at least 4 months between May 24th 1915 and November 4th 1918 in Italy, Albania, Siria, Palestine or the Dodecanese.

Bottom right - "Croce al merito di guerra". Details.  Awarded after 1968 to all recipients of the "Ordine di Vittorio Veneto" that had served for one year in a war zone or were wounded in action.

Apparently the Order of Vittorio Veneto and the War Merit Cross are closely linked, but I have not been able to establish which is a prerequisite for the other or if they are simply awarded together. 

Do you have any idea if he served as an Officer, an NCO or an enlisted soldier? Records for officers are most likely to be found in Rome, by contacting the army's archives, whereas for NCOs and enlisted troops you would be better off contacting the military district closest to where he lived at the time. I have no idea if they keep records from WWI.

As for the unit, might he have fought with the Alpini? That's not really a unit, the Alpini counted slightly less than 80000 men in WWI, but it might help narrow it down a bit. Do you know where he fought?

Hope this helps!

  • Member since
    January 2013
WWI Italian Military Records
Posted by jibber on Wednesday, March 26, 2014 1:38 PM

I'm trying to research my grandfathers Italian military records from WWI and need some help. I know he was awarded Cavaliere in 1970 and I also have some of his medals. I also know that he was in an elite group that were trained in mountain fighting and spent some time in Germany, then came to the US with my grandmother and my mother in the 30's. We have his Ellis Island records. Having went through the first war he didn't like how things were shaping up with Musssolini and the Germans and left his country before things started going badly.

I've checked a lot of sites but I'm not getting enough information, so is there anywhere I can access Italian military records and see what unit(s) he was in? In 1970 the Italian government awarded him Cavaliere and  received a small pension. I'll post what medals I have to see if anybody can identify them. 

Thanks, Terry   

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