In a climate of deep emotion, in the presence of the military and political leadership of the Armed Forces, today (22.07.2025) was held at Elefsina Air Base, repatriation In Greece of the Relics of 6 fallen Greek heroes of military Cyprus.
The repatriation of the identified relics of 6 fallen gunmen during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 was held with prices and even a memorial service was made in their memory.
The ceremony was attended by the Minister of National Defense, Nikos Dendias, the MP Nina Kasimatis as a spokesman for the Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament, the Chief of General Staff General Dimitrios Houpis, the Chief of the General Staff, the Chief of the Hellenic General Demosthenes Grigoriadis.
The Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to Athens, Stavros Avgoustidis, the Chairman of the Pan -Hellenic Committee on Parents & Congresses of undeclared prisoners and missing Cypriot tragedy Maria Kalbourtzis, families and relatives, were also present.
Nikos Dendias reported at the ceremony:
“Greece today fulfills a historical debt and does the obvious. It attributes due honor to the dead and justification to their families.
Repatriates, After decades of anticipation, The bones of six gunmen from Greece who fell heroically during the Turkish invasion of Megalonissos in 1974. That is, it restores its dead to the land.
It is recommended to fulfill this debt to the centuries -long tradition of Hellenism. That is, the collection, the rendering of favorable prices and the respect of our dead.
I would like to remind myself as a historical example of the death of the victorious Admirals of the Athenian Republic after the Battle of Arginous, because they failed to collect their dead because of the trick.
EVANGELOS KARAISKOS / Ministry of National Defense Ministry / EUROKINISSI MINISTRY
The Ark of National Memory is present as a modern monument to the dead of modern Greece today at the Ministry of National Defense. The leading work of Kostas Varotsos, in which all the names of the dead of the wars of Greece have been engraved.
For five decades now, the search and identification of those missing in Cyprus have not stopped. They have been and are the national priority. And today, the heart of all of us and our thinking turn to relatives of the fallen.
We perceive and respect the sadness of long anticipation.
The case of the Cyprus missing reminds that for Hellenism there is no anonymous losses and the identification of the fallen in favor of the homeland is an act of honor.
EVANGELOS KARAISKOS / Ministry of National Defense Ministry / EUROKINISSI MINISTRY
And the return to the homeland is a matter of all Greek society, of all the real Greeks.
Let me at this point express my gratitude to the Republic of Cyprus, but also to those who worked with faith, patience and dedication for today’s return to the homeland.
The coordinated effort confirms that it is possible to transcend obstacles and that every national effort is not completed in the face of difficulties.
EVANGELOS KARAISKOS / Ministry of National Defense Ministry / EUROKINISSI MINISTRY
The research continues uninterruptedly for every Greek who is ignored and The state will insist until each family receives the justification that is due.
The nation and the armed forces stand with respect. They honor the Greeks who are finally returning home today:
- The reserve a non -anti -Surveyor Themistocles Eleftheropoulos.
- The lecturer Stefanos Koutroulis.
- The lecturer Lambros Nikitopoulos.
- The lecturer Theodore Xenos.
- The reserve non -anti -Surveyist George Roussi.
- The lecturer Theodore Charalambides.
EVANGELOS KARAISKOS / Ministry of National Defense Ministry / EUROKINISSI MINISTRY
These dead are a timeless example. And I would like to observe that the honored dead are all backers, because the defense of our homeland, in addition to our worthy professional executives, is based in the citizens’ army over time.
This is a stable national advantage, because the defensive power of the homeland is not only based on technological capacity and superiority. It is primarily based on the will, self -denial, patriotism and selfless contribution of its citizens.
And The surrender of reserve is the invaluable national legacy. Runs Greek history 2,500 years. The armed citizens fought from the Marathon and Salamis to the mountains of Epirus and Rupel.
At every moment of crisis, Greek citizens go beyond themselves, the inherent defects of the race, and unite around the idea of defense of the homeland and individual, to self -sacrifice, responsibility of every citizen towards it. This is the characteristic that distinguishes us, the steadfast foundation of our national security.
This is based on the great reform of the Armed Forces, known as “Agenda 2030”that tends to Creating the strongest, of the best trained and his best of equipped army of civilians in Europe and you will allow me to say, Maybe on the whole planet.
EVANGELOS KARAISKOS / Ministry of National Defense Ministry / EUROKINISSI MINISTRY
Today, the bones of our dead are returning to the land that raised them and their names are certainly not to be forgotten.
As I told you before, Their sacrifice is recorded in the National Remembrance Ark and enclosed in the collective and timeless memory of the nation, that is, in truth. Because in Greek the truth is the denial of oblivion, that is, of forgetfulness. It is the living memory conservation. Their memory is eternal. “
After the ceremony, the burial of the relics will be followed by relatives in cooperation with the relevant formations.
Yesterday, Monday, July 21, 2025, in the presence of the President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides, the Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Cyprus Annita Dimitriou, the spokesman of the Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament, the President of the Hellenic Parliament, The official receipt of the relics of the 6 fallen was held in Nicosia.
Subsequently, it took place The burial of relics of 10 fallen from Greecewhose relatives chose the burial to take place in the Macedonian Tomb in Nicosia. Ms. Kasimatis accompanied the transfer of the six fallen fallen.