Nicola Calipari (June 23, 1953March 4, 2005) was an Italian major general and SISMI military intelligence officer. Calipari was accidentally killed by American soldiers while escorting a recently released Italian hostage, journalist Giuliana Sgrena, to Baghdad International Airport. During the 1990s, he was involved in several rescues of people kidnapped by 'Ndrangheta and other criminal organizations. He had spent most of his career in the Italian police, rising to a senior position, before joining the Italian military Security and Intelligence Service (SISMI) two years before his death. Calipari's death sparked one of the most serious diplomatic incidents between U.S. and Italy since the end of World War II. Calipari is one of only five US or European general officers to be injured or killed during combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Personal life Calipari was born in Reggio Calabria on June 23, 1953. When Calipari was killed, he was married and had two children. Career Rescue of Giuliana Sgrena Calipari, along with Andrea Carpani, rescued Giuliana Sgrena from her captors, in undisclosed circumstances. On the way back to Baghdad International Airport, the Toyota Corolla they were travelling in came under fire, in disputed conditions, by American soldiers that had set up a blocking position to protect the convoy transporting the American ambassador, John Negroponte. According to the reconstruction of Giuliana Sgrena, Calipari threw himself on her, and shortly after died after being shot in his temple. A coalition report later identified the soldier who shot Calipari as New York State National Guardsman Mario Lozano, a member of the 1st Battalion of the 69th Infantry Regiment (of the Third Infantry Division). Death Reactions in Italy Sorrow over Calipari's death united the nation, tens of thousands of Italians paid their respects to Calipari, who had become a national hero, at the state funeral on March 8, 2005, at Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri in Rome. He was posthumously awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor by President of the Italian Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi on March 22, 2005. Video On May 8, 2007, the Italian T.V. channel Canale 5 broadcast a video of the very first moments after the shooting. In this video, Calipari's car lights are switched on (while American officials said the car was travelling with lights switched off), and the car is at least 50 meters from the U.S. Army vehicle. This means that Lozano shot while