Tosi Drive Memorial

  • Published
  • By Debi Smith
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  The son of an Italian fighter pilot, 2nd Lieutenant Marco Tosi chased a childhood dream of becoming a pilot and graduating from the elite Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program at Sheppard Air Force Base in 2001. On a fateful day that August, his dream came to an end but his spirit remains over the Texoma skies where he loved to fly.

As the solo lead in a demanding two-ship T-38 advanced formation profile sortie, it is believed the sun contributed to the aircraft losing sight of each other, causing a collision and loss of Tosi's life. The other two pilots were able to safely eject.

In celebration of his life, the Italian detachment at Sheppard Air Force Base pursued a memorial project, designating a roadway at the 80th Flying Training Wing in his honor.
 
The two-year process required the approval of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General Mark Welsh III, and as with many coincidental aspects of the event, he signed off on the Italian Air Force birthday, March 28, 2014. The dedication was then scheduled for the anniversary week of Tosi's death, Aug. 24, 2001.

Lieutenant Colonel Michele Minonne, ENJJPT Italian Senior Representative, having bid Tosi farewell that fateful morning with an "okay, boy, see you later" told those assembled at the dedication, "He was a humble servant of the national and international community...let us be proud...be generous in your duty, for you will be rewarded. Today, Marco is being rewarded for his love of aviation, outstanding qualities as a pilot and his great generosity, enthusiasm and determination."

Major General Giovanni Fantuzzi, Italian Defense Ministry attaché, spoke on behalf of the family and accepted a memorial gift. With the Sheppard Honor Guard, flag ceremony and taps, he unveiled the Tosi Drive road sign in front of an Italian flight delegation, community partners and base senior leaders.

"I salute you on behalf of the Tosi family, who are not here in person, but in soul. His father, Lt. Gen Tiziano Tosi, is a tremendous Airman and pilot. His mother, Flavia, was a classical dancer and turned her attention to raising two sons and a daughter. To lose Marco, the pain was tough and unnatural, but we have learned from their strength and resiliency to fly fast and high," he said. "Flying is a risky business but we are to do our best, to work hard, study hard, so that our Air Forces are the best, are stronger and safer and our countries are free."

Just as Lt. Tosi inspired so many at Sheppard, his memory continues in the NATO community.

Fantuzzi emphasized "what we are training here is we are building trust and getting to know each other, to set up a foundation of the international environment to face today's world issues."

Lt. Col Minonne has served eight years of his career at Sheppard and flies his own fini-flight the day after the Tosi Drive dedication. With final preparations to return to Italy, he fulfills a personal promise of the Tosi dedication.

"The United States is my second country and I leave this memory of Marco," he said. "Fly, Marco, you are our guardian angel. You are an angel in the skies of Texas."