YEAR OF BIRTH: 1944
MILITARY SERVICE: 1965 – 1966
ASSIGNMENT: “Tolmezzo” Alpini Battalion (114th Mortar Company)
LOCATION: Venzone (UD)
ROLE: Mortarman
Elio Ropelato, born in Scurelle (Province of Trento) in 1944, received his call-up papers in 1965, the year in which he departed for the Basic Training Battalion (BAR) in Teramo. He was subsequently assigned to the 8th Alpini Regiment of the “Julia” Brigade, based in Venzone (Province of Udine). During his military service, he served as a mortarman in the 114th Mortar Company and attended the “Addestramento all’ardimento” (intensive physical and psychological training) course at the “Zucchi” Barracks in Chiusaforte. While under arms, he attained the rank of Corporal Major. After discharge, he returned to live in Valsugana, where he worked as a factory worker and, in his free time, cultivated his interest in history and the battlefields of the First World War.
