The building of the old elementary school of Sottoguda, now site to the Tourist Office, is entitled to Carlo Delcroix, an Italian soldier, decorated with the Silver Medal for Military Valor. Carlo Delcroix was born in Florence on August 22, 1896.
Carlo Delcroix was born in Florence on August 22, 1896.
In the spring of 1916 he was drafted into the 3rd Bersaglieri regiment in the Alpine sector, serving between the Marmolada and Col di Lana. On April 17th of the same year he participated in the actions for the conquest of Col di Lana, and subsequently in the battles for the conquest of Monte Sief and Mesolina during which he distinguished himself for his courage. In November he was placed in command of a special section of machine guns in the Marmolada area.
The winter of 1916-17 was notoriously a very, very cold winter At the beginning of January 1917 he was transferred again: he had the task of directing the snow clearing works on the Marmolada mule tracks. In February 1917 he was transferred to Malga Ciapela with the task of instructing the “green flames” to throw hand grenades.
On 11th March 1917, during an exercise, a heavy snowfall began which forced the military to suspend training, and did not allow the bomb squad to remove the unexploded ordnance.
It snowed all night and the next day a militar coming down from the front lines stepped on a bomb and died. No one dared to go into that land strewn with bombs: to avoid other misfortunes, Delcroix sent everyone away and began to reclaim the area: he sifted with his hands, step by step all the snow-covered ground, making the unexploded devices shine safely.
Towards evening he found a bomb that he tried to launch in the Pettorina torrent but it exploded in his hands. He survived this terrible accident and overcame with great fortitude the loss of his hands and sight.
He survived this terrible accident and overcame with great fortitude the loss of his hands and sight. He was a Fascist Member of Parliament from 1924 to 1943 and one of the founders of the National Association of the Mutilated and Disabled of War.
