The plane was shot down while carrying aid to besieged Sarajevo
On September 3, 1992, the aircraft used to transport humanitarian aid for the Sarajevo population was shot down by two surface-to-air missiles. The G-222 Lyra 34 belonged to the 46 ^ Pisa air brigade of the Italian Air Force. The Lyra 34 operated with a view to an airlift operation to support - through food and medical supplies - the populations besieged during the war. The four fallen soldiers - Marco Betti, Giuseppe Buttaglieri, Marco Rigliaco, Giuliano Velardi - were awarded the Gold Medal for Military Valor by the President of the Republic - at the time Oscar Luigi Scalfaro - on 14 December 1992.
The operation was part of the actions prepared by the UN in support of the Bosnian population under siege and therefore unable to receive any kind of help - due to the fighting.
A simple but touching ceremony was held on the slopes of Monte Zec, near Fojnica, to pay homage to the four airmen of the G222 'Lyra 34' of the Air Force, shot down on 3 September 1992 while transporting humanitarian aid for the civilian population during the siege of Sarajevo.
At the ceremony, which took place near the site of the impact, was present the charge d'affaires of the Embassy of Italy in Sarajevo Carlo Marcotulli who, addressing the civil and military authorities present, recalled how the sacrifice of the four military witnesses the commitment of the Italian armed forces and the collaboration with the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina in favor of peace.
On site there was a representative of the local Ministry of Defense, the Italian military personnel working at the EUFOR Mission and the NATO headquarters in Sarajevo, together with representatives of the two commands, the apostolic nuncio Archbishop Luigi Pezzuto, the authorities of the municipality of Fojnica and numerous defense officers.
The inscription, engraved on the granite marble monument built close to the crash site, states:
"In memory of Marco Betti, Marco Rigliaco, Giuseppe Buttaglieri and Giuliano Velardi, Gold Medals for Military Valor, fallen because others live - Cieli BiH, 3 settembre 1992"And continuing, transcribed also in the Serbian-Croatian language: "... The 46ma Air Brigade, in the wake of a heroic tradition of war and peace, consecrated by the sacrifice of the fallen crews in the fulfillment of duty, has written pages of stories that constitute the glorious patrimony of military virtues that have given luster and prestige to the 'Aeronautica Militare and Italia'.