The Minister of National Defence Panos Kammenos accompanied by the Chief of HNDGS Admiral Evangelos Apostolakis, the Chief of HNGS Vice Admiral Nikolaos Tsounis, the Commander in Chief of the Hellenic Fleet Vice Admiral Ioannis Pavlopoulos and the Commander of the Higher Military Command of Interior and Islands Nikolaos Manolakos, attended the inauguration ceremony of the monument to the honour of the three fallen officers of the Hellenic Navy at Kinaros.
The Minister of National Defence, in his address, stated, among other things, the following:
“We are here today, with the military leadership, the Chief of Hellenic National Defence General Staff, the Chief of Hellenic Navy General Staff, the Commander of the Higher Military Command of Interior and Islands, the Commander in Chief of the Hellenic Fleet, and we are particularly pleased and honoured by the presence of the local authorities of all the islands in the area and by the presence of the Mayor of Amorgos, the Mayor of Leros, the Deputy Governor of the Region, the Prefect of Koufonisia islands and, of course, of our pilot colleagues and the crews, in order to pay the due honour to three heroes: Lieutenant Konstantinos Pananas, Lieutenant Anastasios Toulitsis and Warrant Officers Eleftherios Evangelou who were killed for their homeland.
This land does not only bear heroes in war time, but in peace time as well. Our Armed Forces are trained in war conditions. We are a Nation which has never stopped to face threats and enemies, across time, and, as history has shown us, we need to be always prepared for war in order to ensure peace and defend our national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The three heroes were killed in peace time, but in war conditions; a night I will never forget; it was the only accident that happened in my tenure, it was the day I lost my father and I have to admit that it was a hard time for everyone, but most of all, for the relatives.
They left babies, children, brothers, mothers, fathers, colleagues, but they are among the heroes. Those heroes guide us. These are the heroes who lead the Officers, the NCOs and the Privates of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The country and the nation are grateful and will continue to give us examples of combat.
With the blessing of the Church, because this combat is for the faith and land, on this island, where Eirini and Giorgos live now and the whole family lived here once, and they guard it. These are the heroes and we consider them as members of the family of the Armed Forces because, without their presence here, this island would have no continental shelf, if there were no financial activity, we pay respect to the monument and promise the families that we will continue to guard the country and keep the ideals of these heroes.
At the same time, we would like to send a message to those who can think some time to question our national sovereignty and territorial integrity. I will use a phrase which the Commander of Kastellorizo island told me for the first time, but which now all the Commanders in islets and islands say; it is a promise which is not given only to a minister, but it is given to a Nation. It is the promise that they give when they take their oath as soldiers, officers or NCOs. They promise that “as long as one of us is still alive, the flag will never be struck. Because the Hellenic Armed Forces remove the flags only to replace them when they are worn out.
Flags in Greece are not left to be taken away by the wind. As long as even one of us is alive, the flag will be hoisted.
Thank you all for being here today. I pay respect to the heroes and I believe that every year that we come here, we will send the strongest message from the centre of the Aegean Sea to both the west, to the big cities, as well as to those who have not yet realized what a homeland is and where the heart of Greece beats; and to the east, to those who may think that some time we may be less alert. Thanks to them we will always be alert. We will be ready to fight for our country and faith.
I thank all the relatives for being here”.
