chants of "Vitória!" from assembled crowds. Salgueiro Maia and his troops had forced the ruling dictatorship to resign peacefully, without bloodshed. During the Revolution, the only four killings were carried out by PIDE, the regime's security agency, when civilians were demonstrating in front of its headquarters in Lisbon. Red carnations became the symbol of the peaceful revolution when some of Maia's soldiers and civilians asked a nearby flower seller for some flowers to put in the muzzles of their guns and tanks, as a sign that there would be no bloodshed. After the Revolution Salgueiro Maia did not seek any position of political power after the Revolution. He became a major in 1981. He later adopted two children. In 1989 he was diagnosed with cancer and died three years later on 4 April 1992, at the age of 47. In the 2000 film Capitães de Abril about the Carnation Revolution, the character of Salgueiro Maia was played by the Italian actor Stefano Accorsi. Awards and decorations In 1983 he received the Grand Cross of the Order of Liberty; in 1992, posthumously, the degree of Grand Officer of the Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of Valour, Loyalty and Merit; in 2007, the Gold Medal of the city of Santarém; and in 2016, the Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry. References External links Article about the Carnation Revolution Portuguese article about Salgueiro Maia, includes pictures of Maia in uniform and as a civilian. 1944 births 1992 deaths People from Castelo de Vide People from Santarém, Portugal Portuguese soldiers Carnation Revolution Recipients of the Order of the Tower and Sword Grand Crosses of the Order of Prince Henry Grand Crosses of the Order of Liberty Portuguese revolutionaries