Antonio Rullo.
He was 93 years old
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May 10, 2021
Antonio Rullo, 93, President of the National Association of ex-combatants of the Maiella Patriots Group and historical Vice President of the Maiella Brigade Foundation, passed away last night in Guardiagrele.
As a boy, since the winter of '43 -'44, he had followed the men of the Maiella Band that he had learned to know in Casoli, where he was displaced by Guardiagrele together with his uncle Giovanni Zulli and his wife Maddalena Rullo. It was Uncle Giovanni himself who had volunteered to join the Troilus Advocate's Band and took part in the initial operations conducted by the mixed Italian and British patrols of the Wigforce.
Accompanying him during the long days on patrol, even his nephew, Antonio, an orphan, had become familiar with the partisans and had soon become a sort of mascot for them. When the front moved and from Recanati the formation asked for new volunteers to enlist in Abruzzo, Antonio had returned to Guardiagrele. Without hesitation, he had accepted the appeal of the "new family" he had found in the war, lying about his age. To Adjutant Major Vittorio Travaglini, who insisted on seeing his identification documents, he replied that "fascism issued them and fascism was no longer there, indeed, there was nothing left in Guardiagrele". He remained in the ranks of the Maiella for a short time until his aunt, his legal guardian, asked for his return, due to her minor age.He was historical vice president of the Maiella Brigade Foundation. The funeral will be held tomorrow, at 3 pm, in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Guardiagrele (Chieti).