KOCHI: The two men from the Apulia (also Puglia) region of Italy, Latorre Massimiliano and Salvatore Girone—from the San Marco
Regiment—remain at sea. “One thing is clear. The guilty must be punished. We lost two precious lives of our fishermen is not forgivable,” according to G K Vasan, Union Minister for Shipping.
Latorre was born in Taranto, 45 years ago (May 25, 1967) and resides in the capital of Ionic, married and separated, has four children. His first passion is the San Marco regiment, where he is a soldier. For several years Latorre had tried his hand at politics. In 2007, he was a candidate for Municipal Taranto for Southern Action League, a regionalist movement founded by former Mayor and MP Giancarlo Cito. In 2010, he tried again with Mario, Giancarlo’s son. His closest family, including his mother (Latorre lost his father long ago) and sisters live in Taranto. “We were the ones to notify the mother of Massimiliano,” said a family member Christian D’Addario, after learning the news on TV. “We are the closest relatives he has. It is, of course, a concern, but we hope to have good news soon.”
Salvatore Girone was born in 1978 (34 years) in Bari where he has been living with his parents. His wife stays in a chalet in Torre a Mare province. The couple have two children, a five-year-old girl and a boy of 10. Two days ago they had talked over the Internet with their father. Before starting his military career, Girone worked as an assistant in the barber shop Miccoli, in the centre of Torre a Mare. Then he joined the San Marco Battalion of Brindisi. “We look forward confidently to the end of this history” are the only words that Girone’s father-in-law, Caesar Ardito, has the strength to utter. The family is in constant contact with the Italian military which reassures them with the message from Girone: “I’m fine, do not worry, I did my duty.”