1967
25 June, S. Nicolò di Comelico (BL)
Mario Di Lecce, 30 years old, paratrooper second lieutenant
Olivo Dordi, 24 years old, paratrooper sergeant
Francesco Gentile, 37 years old, captain of the Carabinieri
Armando Piva, 21 years old, corporal of the Alpine troops

The massacre occurred following an attack in which on 25 June 1967 terrorists knocked down a high voltage pylon, with 6 charges for a total of 8-10 kilograms of explosives, triggered with a clockwork system and electric ignition. Among the finds recovered were a Kienzle watch, a Peter alarm clock, fragments of German-made adhesive tape and a gray wool glove.

The events began at 3.40 am, when a sentry from the Forcella Dignas detachment, in the municipality of San Pietro di Cadore (BL), heard a strong explosion in the direction of the Cima Vallona pass. The command of the Santo Stefano di Cadore (BL) garrison was informed of the incident.
In order to ascertain the cause of the explosion, a patrol made up of Alpine troops, bomb disposal experts and financiers was sent, which set off from the garrison headquarters on board reconnaissance cars at 5.30 am.
Having reached about 600 meters from the pylon which appeared damaged, the soldiers, unable to continue further with vehicles due to the presence of snow drifts, proceeded on foot. The patrol was led by the captain of the Alpini Alamari and the lieutenant of the Guardia di Finanza Marinetti followed by the others. Suddenly, about 70 meters from the building, an explosion occurred from a device placed under a pile of gravel. The explosion hit the Alpine radio broadcaster Armando Piva, a member of the “Val Cismon” battalion. He was transported to the San Candido Hospital (BZ) and died at 11pm on the same day, after agony due to the mutilations suffered in the explosion.
On board an AB 204 of the IV General Purpose Helicopter Department that took off from San Giacomo Airport (BZ), a team from the Special Anti-Terrorism Company was sent to Sega Digon, with the task of collecting useful clues for the investigation and identifying the perpetrators of the attack. The team was made up of:
> Francesco Gentile, born in 1930, from Fano (PS), captain of the Parachute Carabinieri Battalion;
> Mario Di Lecce, born in 1936, from Lecce, second lieutenant of the Parachute Saboteur Battalion;
> Marcello Fagnani, born in 1940, from Rome, bomb disposal sergeant major of the Parachute Saboteur Battalion;
> Olivo Dordi, born in 1943, from Gromo (BG), bomb disposal sergeant of the Parachute Saboteur Battalion.
Having accomplished their task, the four set off in a column on the way back along the same route taken on the outward journey and in the direction of the waiting helicopter, when, inadvertently, one of them activated an explosive trap estimated at around 5 kg placed in about 400 meters from the site of the attack and along the only available path.
Following the explosion, Second Lieutenant Di Lecce, Captain Gentile and Sergeant Dordi died instantly. Sergeant Marcello Fagnani, hit by over 40 splinters, was seriously injured.
At the site of the explosion, two wooden tablets were found engraved with a claim signed by the South Tyrolean separatist terrorist organization BAS (Befreiungsausschuss Südtirol).
The text stated:
«You must never have the border barrier at Brenner again. You still have to dig a hole in our land first.”
This attack is also part of the Brenner Connection, a series of attacks carried out by the BAS, a South Tyrolean separatist organisation, or rather by “the good guys of the Aurina Valley”.

From
Colmoschin.it
Strage di Cima Vallona