Paola Del Din celebrated her 100th birthday yesterday. The only gold medal awarded for military valor by the living Italian Resistance, it symbolizes the liberation struggle against Nazi-fascism. She was the first female paratrooper in Italy, and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni mentioned her in a letter to Corriere della Sera on April 25. In a message, the Prime Minister thanked her for "her constant witness of love for the homeland and for freedom." Del Din joined the resistance in Friuli-Venezia Giulia in the ranks of the Osoppo Brigade, along with his brother Renato. At the request of Osoppo and the Allies, she was renamed with the nom de guerre "Renata" upon the death of her brother, who had been killed by the Germans, and "relay" upon the death of her brother. On April 9, 1945, after completing a skydiving course, she was the only woman to perform a jump during the Second World War and the first Italian military female paratrooper. On this occasion, she fractured his ankle upon landing but was still able to deliver the classified documents she was transporting. Following the war, she earned a degree in literature from Padua and worked as a teacher. She moved to the United States and won a scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned a Master of Arts degree. She returned to Italy and continued to teach in public schools.
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