Airman serves as Piesport Prince of Carnival

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Tammie Moore
  • 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SPANGDHALEM AIR BASE, Germany --  As a child Senior Airman Vito Cipolla discovered the village of Piesport on a wine label at age seven, something that he always remembered. Fast-forward 21 years to the day he landed in Germany in 2006. He asked his sponsor if he knew where Piesport was and, within two hours of arriving there he found his new home.

But to live in this town was not enough. Airman Cipolla, a 52nd Medical Support Squadron pharmacy technician, has been presented with the unique honor of being the first American to serve as the Piesport Prince of Carnival, as well as being presented with the village keys.

As a special "thank you" for all that the 28-year-old does for the Piesport community, he has been selected to hold this honor, one only bestowed upon only a chosen few.

As the Prince of Carnival, Airman Cipolla serves as a figurehead for the village during carnival events, representing the entire village and the carnival club. This should be a piece of cake for him since his face is already very well-known in his community. He
serves as a volunteer firefighter, is a member of the rifle club and carnival club, in addition to participating in other activities.

"It is an honor; it is not often that people are given the keys to a city," said the brown-haired Airman as his blue eyes sparkled. "For me to be a foreigner in the country and receive the keys to a city in a foreign land, it is a humongous honor and a huge responsibility."

"It is a great honor to be selected as Carnival Prince in any German community," said Connie Pitsch, 52nd Fighter Wing community relations advisor. "It shows that the person is well-liked and respected by the residents. In this case it is also a wonderful sign of German-American friendship in that community."

Airman Cipolla is the best example of a philanthropist not only for what he does as a volunteer, but also, with the involvement he creates during the wine harvest season, according the Piesport Burgermeister, also known as the mayor.

While serving in Korea, with a guaranteed follow-on assignment to Germany, Airman Cipolla embraced community involvement as a way to become involved in the local culture. This desire for cultural enrichment continued when he arrived here.

"A little act makes a bigger impact than you might think," he said. "By just helping someone in the simplest way, people talk about that small action and it makes our (American) presence known in a positive way."

One of Airman Cipolla's passions is helping to preserve the traditional wine ways in Piesport.

"By extending the olive branch to our host country, I arrange for Americans to help by volunteering to harvest grapes for the older winemakers who can barely make ends meet," he said. "They cannot pay for their crops to be harvested and they are too old to finish them alone. Our assistance allows them to get the crops in before it is too late in the season. It helps them have enough money for next year so we can help preserve this tradition that is slowly being taken over by the major wine industries."

In addition, he solicited the aid of his Airman Leadership School class to spend the day performing maintenance tasks around the town. The class spent a day cleaning gardens, re-roping the bells in the bell tower and performing maintenance on some historical structures the village did not have enough funds to care for.

"We live here, so we should get out in the local communities," he said. "Some people rarely go out of their house, leave the base or try to speak the language. You have to at least try and the Germans will meet you halfway. The small villages are so grateful for anything you do, even something as small as sweeping your neighbor's sidewalk."

Airman Cipolla, who comes from a large extended family, is looking forward for the carnival festivities to begin.

"I am looking forward to the smiles I will get to see on everyone's faces," he said. "They know me -- they are my family."

Airman Cipolla is a great example of how Americans can integrate into the German communities, according to Mrs. Pitsch. "It would be nice to see more Airmen take a note from him and get involved in German music bands, soccer teams, choirs and more; it is a great way to integrate into a town."