The Minister of National Defence Mr Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos represented, on Saturday 23 May 2020, the Government at the Honour and Memory Event for the Hero Lieutenant Konstantinos Iliakis, taking place on Karpathos.
After the memorial service, wreaths were laid at the monument erected at the island’s harbour, while during the event a pair of F-16 aircrafts from the 115 Battle Wing flew at a low altitude, paying homage to the memory of the Hero.
The Minister was accompanied by the Chief of HNDGS General Konstantinos Floros and the Chief of HAFGS Lieutenant General Georgios Blioumis. The Dodecanese New Democracy PMs Mr Ioannis Pappas and Mr Vasilios Ypsilandis, the Provincial Governor of Karpathos and of the heroic Kasos Island Ms Kalliopi Nikolaidou, His Eminence the Metropolitan Bishop of Karpathos and Kasos Mr Amvrosios, the brother of the deceased Mr Filippos Iliakis and representatives of the Local Self-government headed by the Deputy Mayor of Karpathos Mr Ioannis Lyristis also attended the event.
You can read the address of the Minister of National Defence below:
“Our purpose here today is to honour the memory of Lieutenant Konstantinos Iliakis, the Officer who on 23 May 2006 breathed his last breath nearby, over the southeastern Aegean, in the line of duty.
On that day, remaining loyal to the oath he had taken graduating from the Air Force Academy, he executed his assigned mission, sending once more the message that the Hellenic Armed Forces will not allow, do not allow and do not tolerate any dispute of the Greek sovereign rights by anyone.
His loss reminds all Greeks the faith, devotion, love for the homeland, the absolute sense of duty which daily and constantly runs through all the members of the Armed Forces and the Greek people should be aware of that.
Konstantinos Iliakis is a model of heroism and stoutness. He served principles and ideals throughout his career, having the love for the Homeland deeply rooted inside him.
Our obligation is to prevent the sacrifices of our people, who fell in the line of duty, from becoming pointless and being forgotten. These sacrifices must enhance and strengthen our resolve for the defence of our national rights.
The inhabitants of frontier and hard to reach areas, like you here on Karpathos, many of whom I can see here today, should know – as you already do first hand – that the Armed Forces are present everywhere, securing the country’s frontiers, while at the same time make every possible effort to cover the basic needs of the local societies in peacetime.
This frequent and altruistic presence creates strong relations of trust and love between the borderers and the Armed Forces. The participation of the inhabitants of Karpathos, your participation today in honour of Lieutenant Iliakis, but also the erection of this monument on your island, constitute a concrete and absolute proof of this particular relation, as well as of the acknowledgment of the Armed Forces’ contribution. That is why you will allow me, addressing you, to express my deepest appreciation.
However, the sacrifice of Lieutenant Iliakis has also a human dimension: That of the loss of a loved one. His family, his children, his loved ones have to endure that loss for a lifetime, but at the same time they must feel absolutely proud of Konstantinos Iliakis. Let that pride, let that sense, let that love and respect of the Greeks be a kind of solace for them.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Down there in Chania, at the 115 Battle Wing, where Lieutenant Konstantinos Iliakis had served – I had the opportunity to visit, early in 2020, to see and experience something – that in the locker room, where the Pilots get dressed, there is an empty space: No one ever gets dressed there. And at that space, every hour and every moment, there are always some flowers and the picture of a young man with a look on his face, which I would say overflows with pride and confidence, the pride and confidence of a Pilot of the Hellenic Air Force.
You should know that it is a different kind of monument, simple but powerful at the “heart” of the Unit that Konstantinos Iliakis was a member of, in Chania, at the 115 Battle Wing. However, that space with the flowers and the picture also signifies something else. It is, first of all, the sense that the Air Force is a family. A family with its own people and its own dead, which remembers and honours them, like any other natural family honours its dead. It is also a proof that the Air Force and the Armed Forces know how to remember and honour these people, especially those who fell in the line of duty. It is also a reminder that this fight for the protection of our homeland’s sovereign rights is constant and dangerous and sometimes fatal. It is also the mark of these members, especially the Pilots of the Air Force who daily cover protectively the Aegean with their wings, these seas, these islands, this place, in a confrontation not just against bad intentions, of any kind, but often against the limits of resilience of man and machine.
And finally it is also the conviction that Konstantinos Iliakis is one more Hero, like all the others who shed their blood for the tree of liberty of Greece to grow, as it happens for all the trees of liberty and, in the words of a wise man, it is a sacrifice which we do not forget, nor should we forget it, because if we do, then we will forget who we are and why we are free.
So, let us not forget, let as simply try to prove ourselves worthy of the sacrifice of Konstantinos Iliakis.
Immortal! Thank you”.
During his address, the Chief of HNDGS mentioned the following:
“It is a truly special moment being here to pay the tribute due to Lieutenant General Konstantinos Iliakis, the Officer who on 23 May 2006 sacrificed his life in peacetime, at the southeastern Aegean, executing his duty through sacrifice and self-denial.
That day, Lieutenant Iliakis received the order to take off as the leader of a pair of aircrafts, so as to conduct reconnaissance of a formation of Turkish aircrafts, which had entered the Greek FIR without clearance.
Loyal to the oath he had taken, he executed his mission, sending once more the resounding message that the Hellenic Armed Forces will not allow the dispute of the Greek sovereign rights to anyone.
Unfortunately, in violation of international security regulations, one of the Turkish aircrafts executed a dangerous manoeuvre and struck the aircraft of Lieutenant Iliakis, causing its fall, sending him to his death and plunging his family, the Armed Forces and the Greek society in grief.
His sacrifice, along with the sacrifices of the other members who were lost in peacetime, during the execution of their duty, is the heavy price the Armed Forces and their families pay, but nonetheless, it constitutes a clear message to all directions about the faith, the devotion and the love of these members for the Homeland.
Today, the appreciative homeland, remembers and honours Lieutenant General Kostas Iliakis, who, apart from anything else, has been also decorated with the respect and the love of generations of Greeks.
Esteemed family of our hero,
We bow with respect to the memory of the chosen pilot of the Hellenic Air Force, we honour his sacrifice and we stress to all directions that the Armed Forces remain loyal to their duty and to their commitment to the Homeland.
As Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff I assure you, not just you here – on the frontier Karpathos Island – but the whole of Greece, that the Armed Forces are and will remain guarantors of our independence and territorial integrity, with personnel ready to walk the path of honour and commitment, aiming to crush those with evil intentions, who will make the fatal mistake of underestimating them.
We are paying homage to our hero, bearing in mind that “The death of the brave one is not considered death” and that he constitutes a shining paradigm for everyone serving in the Armed Forces.
Ladies and gentlemen,
With today’s solemn ceremony we pay tribute to one more Officer who wrote with his blood his own page in the glorious Greek history. However, to attribute to the sacrifice of Kostas Iliakis even greater value, it is our obligation to keep working intensely, tirelessly and making any effort or spend as much time necessary to secure peace and our Country’s independence.
Glory to the Armed Forces!
Glory to the Hero Konstantinos Iliakis”.
