The Minister of National Defence Panos Kammenos, the Chief of HNDGS Admiral Evangelos Apostolakis, the Chief of HAGS Lieutenant General Alkiviadis Stefanis, the Chief of HNGS Vice Admiral Nikolaos Tsounis, the Chief of HAFGS Lieutenant General Christos Christodoulou and the Special Secretary of the Ministry of National Defence Kalliopi Papaleonidas attended the ceremony of handover of the remains of 17 fallen soldiers in Cyprus which was held in Dekeleia Air Base, Tatoi.

The ceremony was also attended by the Speaker of the Parliament Nikos Voutsis.

The Minister of National Defence stated the following:

“We receive the heroic Greek soldiers who fell during the notorious Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 with national pride, deep emotion and the healthy respect and pay the due tribute to them, as well as the fallen of the guard ship PHAETHON in 1964.

The Turkish invasion of Cyprus, as well as the operation of the guard ship PHAETHON were official military exercises. Greek soldiers were not killed during the exercises, but during the execution of the national mission for their land and faith, as Greek men and women fall when they give their battle for territorial integrity and national independence, for the flag and Cross, fulfilling the oath they take when they enlist as soldiers.

These heroes:

Lieutenant General Vasileios Panagopoulos,

Colonel (INF) Vasileios Papalamprou,

Reserve Warrant Officers (INF),
Athanasios Karageorgos,
Argyrios Sinnis,
Ioannis Konstantakopoulos,
Georgios Chamouriotakis,
Ioannins Papadopoulos,
Konstantinos Brodimas,
Georgios Zervomanolis,
Vasileios Triantis,
Manousos Triantafyllidis,
Nikolaos Kritikos,
Nikolaos Athanasiou,

Reserve Warrant Officers (Raiders)
Sotirios Kourounis,
Stefanos Tsilivakis,

Reserve Warrant Officer (Engineer)
Eleftherios Anthis,

Reserve Warrant Officer of the Hellenic Navy (Guard ship Phaethon)
Nikolaos Niafas.

gave their own lives for the ideals of freedom of our Nation. Our country pays a debt. They will from now on rest in peace in their birthplace.

Our heroes, showed what the notions of self-denial, solidarity and manliness mean and they are among those who decorate the glorious history of the Hellenic Armed Forces with their example.

They sacrificed themselves, honoring their oath, each of them bearing a special burden of history; of a history that inspires us and is an eternal legacy for Greek people.

They shed their blood on the Greek land of Cyprus, they shed their blood for the independence of Cyprus, and they shed their blood for freedom.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today, our thought is about the known and unknown heroes of the battle fields as well as of those who continue our glorious national course.

We should not forget that the Hellenic Armed Forces, even in peace time, produce heroes who fight for the territorial integrity, national independence as well as the security of all of us.

The entire Greek people feel proud of the work that the Armed Forces contribute to our nation and community. People appreciate them and praise them in their conscience, knowing that they are the continuators of the historical legacy of the ancestors, like the heroes whose remains we honour today.

The strongest weapon that the Hellenic Armed Forces possess is the manpower. They are ready, at any moment, to defend the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country, constituting the most reliable factor of our country’s power of defence. Nobody can surmount this weapon, it is the weapon of “national soul”.

Respectable relatives of the heroes,

I would like to reiterate that it is a top priority for me, for the government and the military leadership, these dead heroes who honoured our Greece with self-sacrifice like many others, to return to their land.

Their sacrifice is a quality base we should inspire in the new generation of Greeks who believe in the ideals of their homeland and of the Greek people.

I would like to refer, in particular, to the Republic of Cyprus, to the Minister of Defence of Cyprus, Mr. Phokaides, who gave his battle for the acknowledgement of the heroes with the new systems that technology has offered, as well as to the Associations of combatants that were not discouraged, together with you all, over the last 43 years; to the President of the Republic of Cyprus, as well as to every Cypriot who gave their battle to correct this injustice.  

I ought to apologize, as I did in Cyprus too, because, for 43 years, crimes were committed against these heroes. I know that many of you, from the very first moment claimed a simple acknowledgement that your relatives fell for the country. I know that many times the state did not pay the appropriate attention to people like the seaman that we receive today, as well as his fellow combatants on board the guard ship PHAETHON who are present, because some people insisted in this operation being kept secret. Even the commander himself was honoured last year for the first time by the Greek state. We owe, therefore, an apology and a commitment that our will perform its duty to acknowledge the contribution of these heroes.

A state that has not acknowledged those who shed their last drop of blood for the country is a state that remains indebted. I assure you that this effort will be continued in policy as well as by the military leadership until the last heroe returns to the country.

Today, the entire  Greek people receive the heroes, your relatives, your brothers, your children, your parents.

We genuflect before them and promise that we will continue to honour their memory and spread the merits for which they gave their lives.

Let them always be remembered!»