Soldier Aaron Vidal awarded the Military Cross of Merit with yellow emblem after his death

 

The casket descending from the airplane (Photo:CGTAD)

The Minister laying the award on the casket (Photo:MINISDEF)

Handing over the Flag and beret to his family  (Photo:MINISDEF)"

Spanish soldier Aaron Vidal was awarded the Military Cross of Merit with yellow emblem after his death -deceased on Sept. 8th in Besmayah, Irak- by the Minister of Defense of Spain, Pedro Morenés, during the funeral that took place on Sept. 10th at ‘General Almirante’ base in Marines, Valencia. It is the base of the No. 8 ‘Luisitania’ Light Armored Cavalry Regiment to which Aaron Vidal belonged.

The soldier´s human remains who deceased in a traffic accident came to Valencia, Spain, early in the morning on a Spanish Air Force airplane. In the afternoon, the funeral ceremonies took place. Among the civil attendees were: Valencia´s Region president, Ximo Puig and Valencia´s government´s delegate, Juan Carlos Moragues. Among the military attendees: Chief of the Defense Staff, General Admiral Fernando García Sánchez and Chief of Staff of the Spanish Army, General of the Army Jaime Domínguez Buj. During the military ceremony, the Ministry of Defense laid on the National flag covering the casket, the award given to soldier Vidal after his death.

After the ordinance honors with the performance of the Spanish National Anthem and the military funeral gun fire, the acting chief of the Regiment, Lt. Col. Sánchez de Lara, had some words. Later, the Spanish flag, the beret, and the decoration was given to his family. To end, the military paid tribute to those who gave their lives for Spain; the Cavalry Anthem was performed.

Soldier Vidal was 25 years old, he was a native of Llíria (Valencia) and was single. He joined the Spanish Army in Sept. 2009 and since then he belonged to the ‘Luisitania’ Regiment. In 2014, he was decorated with the Military Cross of Merit with white emblem in recognition of his outstanding dedication and competence.

On the other hand, Corporal Capa and soldier Alacid, who were injured at the same accident, are progressing favorably. They have been already discharged and have rejoined their activities. Regarding the investigations of the accident after the first technical examinations, the cistern truck that caused the accident had no signs or traces of explosives; it just carried water.
The soldier driving the tanker truck has also been interrogated. He said he lost control of the truck. Also biometric data were analyzed and the results are negative therefore, the accident is not related to any criminal or terrorist action.