Filippo Illuminato

On 3 September 1943, the Allies and the Kingdom of Italy signed the Armistice of Cassibile. On 8 September, it became publicly known, and Nazi Germany reacted by attacking Italy, their former Axis ally. On 13 September, the Nazi military governor of Naples ordered disarmament, and a curfew, and threatened savage retaliation for any attack on his men. On 26 September, the city rose in insurrection (the Four days of Naples). When the Allies entered Naples on 1 October, the Nazis had gone. Illuminato came from a poor Neapolitan family. After finishing elementary school, he took a job as an apprentice mechanic in a vehicle repair shop. His Gold Medal citation reads: Combattente tredicenne nella insurrezione di Napoli contro l'invasione tedesca, solo e con sublime ardimento, mentre gli uomini fatti cercavano riparo, muoveva incontro ad un'autoblinda che dalla piazza Trieste e Trento stava per imboccare via Roma.