The Minister of National Defence, Panos Kammenos, the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, Admiral Evangelos Apostolakis(Navy), the Chief of the Navy General Staff , Vice Admiral Nikolaos Tsounis(Navy), the Chief of the Air Force General Staff, Lieutenant General (AF) Christos Christodoulou and Special Secretary of the Ministry of National Defence, Kalliopi Papaleonida, attended the ceremony in honour of Captain ( AF ) Kostas Iliakis, which held in Karpathos, regarding his heroic death eleven years ago, who lost his life defending the country.

The Alternate Minister of Health, Pavlos Polakis, members of the Parliament and representatives of the political parties attended the commemorative events.

The Minister of National Defence addressed the following:

“ Once again, we are gathered here today , to pay tribute to and express our gratitude to hero Kostas Iliakis, who gave his life upon executing his duty, defending the country. Defending our territorial integrity and national sovereignty. Defending all of us.

It is a national and moral obligation to be here today, to honour this great Greek man, this remarkable cadre of the Armed Forces and his family and children, who are raised to be proud of their heroic father. All Greeks are obliged to be here today, united, because this is the message conveyed by the death of Kostas Iliakis, who fell on the field of honour.

Kostas Iliakis is a symbol of unity, unselfishness and self-sacrifice. His memory lingers on through time, an unlimited heritage for the next generations, an inspiration of valor and courage for all of us, to remind us of his sacrifice, for the preservation of our independence and territorial integrity and to strengthen the faith of all of us, regarding the values and ideals of the nation.
Heroes like Iliakis fight and die out of love for their country and this is the grandeur of soul that only they can experience. Heroism is above all sense of duty and responsibility towards the country and the common good. Heroes never fall into oblivion. They are always by our side, devoted in the ideals of the country and ready to sacrifice themselves for freedom, for our independence and the common good, as all cadres of the Armed Forces do today.

So, our Air Force pilots are here, they struggle every day to guarantee the safety of the people in the islands and the whole country.

Our Armed Forces are determined to prevent any disputes regarding the country’s sovereign rights, especially today that Turkey’s provocativeness has outdone itself. Our flags will never be lowered and we certainly will not allow, ever again, them to be blown away. We are determined to defend them till the last drop of our blood. All together, the Greek women and men. We owe it, for that matter, to our heroes, who gave their lives for them, like Kostas Iliakis. The cadres of the Air Force, defending the national air space, the cadres of the Navy, protecting the sea borders, the Army and the National Guard in every unit, outpost and border islet, remain vigilant guards to “guard Thermopylae”.

The country, the nation, the long lasting history of the Greek nation, our heroes, Kostas Iliakis, are inside our soul and constitute a beacon in our lives and a hope for our future. Greek people never bow their heads, they look up, honour their heroes and move on. As the poet, Giannis Ritsos, wrote “This people bow only before their dead”. Today, all together, we bow before Kostas Iliakis.

So, today, we bow before bravery and self-sacrifice. We salute a pure soldier, who put “we” above “I”, who put his duty to his country above any other value, sacrificing himself for it and taking his place in the Pantheon of our nation’s men of everlasting glory.

Kostas Iliakis, the country will always be grateful to you. Your memory and glory will last forever. May Virgin Mary and our Protector give strength both to your family and the whole nation, in the hard path we owe to follow, for the dignity and preservation of the sanctities of our country, which you are illuminating through your sacrifice. We always have on our minds your comrades, who keep flying defending our country, our families, our principles and values.

Long live the hero, Konstantinos Iliakis”.