Olgiate Olona, June 26, 1959 - Commemorative events (2023)

Commemorative events of June 26, 1959

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

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Commemorative events 2023

In 2023 the educational project in memory of the plane crash has been addressed to 74 students of III A, III D and III E classes of Dante Alighieri school in Olgiate Olona.

Commemoration of 64th anniversary of the plane crash

The ceremony of June 26, 2023, in the town hall was attended by relatives of the seventy immortal lives coming from the Unites States of America and from Italy, local associations, the ten students in the eighth grade of Olgiate Olona authors of the deserving works produced in the thirteenth edition of the educational project in memory of June 26, 1959: all awarded with a certificate of merit, the authors of the best three works read their own works and received a book coupon sponsored by the relatives of Pietro Castelnovo. The work Settanta vite perse in un secondoby Samuele De Paola, third classified, received the 2023 Special award. Two certificates of thanks were given: to the civil protection of Olgiate Olona who has taken care of the area of the memorial monument for 20 years; to the relatives of Giuseppina Airaghi Landoni (1910-1993) who have maintained the decorum of Maria Fermi Sacchetti’s grave in the civic cemetery for 30 years.

(page containing the works of the students in the eighth grade rewarded)

Commemoration of June 26, 2023
Beginning of the ceremony

The tolling of the bell at 17.33 and the reading of all the names of the seventy immortal lives (video property of InformazioneOnline.it)

Commemoration of June 26, 2023
Commemorative speech of Olgiate Olona mayor

Commemorative speech of Olgiate Olona mayor Giovanni Montano (video property of InformazioneOnline.it)

Greetings and thanks to all of you present here and in particular to the many relatives of the seventy immortal lives of the plane crash who once again are honoring us with their presence today. Greetings to the representatives of Comitato 8 ottobre committee, to the associations present here and to the finalist students of the educational project, to their families and to the teachers of Beato Contardo Ferrini school. Due thanks to the organizers and volunteers who make this commemoration possible with passion and dedication, I express my sincere appreciation to them for their constant commitment.

Today, as we are used to do every June 26th, we are gathered here to keep the memory of the plane crash of 1959 alive, a mournful event that struck our country 64 years ago leaving an indelible mark in the collective memory of the community of Olgiate Olona.

There are many commendable reasons why every year, as the municipal administration, we consider important to commemorate the plane crash of Olgiate Olona of June 26, 1959. First of all, it is an institutional and above all a moral duty: our community feel so “close” to the pain of the families of the victims, a pain that has not been erased by the passage of time. The solidarity and moral closeness that our fathers had towards the relatives of the victims who rushed to Olgiate Olona in the days of the crash back in 1959, are the same feelings that we renew today towards these friends present here who have joined us today from the United States of America and Italy to remember their loved ones who ended their earthly existence in the sky of Olgiate Olona. Solidarity is above all a strong feeling of brotherhood, and the family of those who care about the memory of June 26th has no limits of time or space: dear friends, your presence here is a clear testimony to this.

The tolling of the bell of our Prevostal church reminded us that today is the time to stop, to disconnect from our everyday life: the community of Olgiate Olona, here represented by the institutions, associations and citizens of all ages, gathers to dedicate a few moments of silence and to remember 70 brothers and sisters who are no longer visible among us.

At the beginning of this ceremony, we have remembered all the names of those who perished in the dramatic crash of the TWA airplane a few minutes after the take-off from Malpensa airport: behind each of their names there is a story, there are affections and ties, there are projects. On that distant June 26, 1959, the fate - lightning during a violent summer storm - decided to put an end to the existence of these unfortunate brothers and sisters. At the time, our fathers did their utmost in every way to bring first aid, which unfortunately proved to be in vain. However, their teaching that has been handed down to us was great: rush to the aid of those in difficulty, be in solidarity with those who need to be encouraged, bring words of comfort to those who are living a hard period.

Even 64 years later, the great void that each of the victims of the plane crash has left remains: my wish is that our closeness to the relatives and our memory can somehow fill that void with love and hope. Our students in the eighth grade present here, authors of the valuable finalist works of the educational project - together with over 1200 students who took part in the previous editions of the project - are the guarantee of our passing on the memory of the plane crash and of the seventy immortal lives, so that it is not lost.

Dr. Giovanni Montano
Olgiate Olona mayor

Commemoration of June 26, 2023
Ceremony and testimonials