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Holy Church of the Transfiguration of the Saviour, Pera Chorio Nissos - Sunday 30 July 2023
"Honour to those who in their lives have created and guarded Thermopylae. Never moved by debt; just and upright in all their deeds, but with sorrow and compassion; brave when they are rich, and when they are poor, brave again to a small degree, again supporting themselves as much as they can; always speaking the truth, but without hatred for those who lie. And more honour is due to them when they predict (and many predict) that Ephialtes will appear in the end, and the Medes will cross at last."
Konstantinos Cavafy wrote the poem "Thermopylae" in 1903. The poet praises the sense of duty to the homeland and the personal attitude of the warriors. At the same time, he stresses the importance of paying tribute to those who, despite the difficulties and the uneven battle, fight to the end to preserve the values and freedom of our country.
The 120th anniversary poem... chronologically topical.
Tribute to the men of the 70th Engineer Battalion of the National Guard, the heroes who "never moved by debt" fell heroically fighting in 1974. To the lads who fought to the end for the defence of Lapithos. On July 20, 1974, the black day of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, the 70th Engineer Battalion, like several units of the National Guard, responded to the call of the homeland. Men of the Battalion, without the necessary cover on many occasions, advanced in conditions of darkness towards enemy positions and mined areas which had been selected to assist in countering the invaders and impeding their advance, having landed troops on the shores of Pente Mili Kyrenia, along with tanks and other war equipment.
Cavalry and reservists of the 70th Engineer Battalion laid several minefields, and took part in other missions, including the destruction of possible enemy routes.
One of these difficult missions, however, was destined to end in a great tragedy.
On 5 August 1974, a company of the Engineer Battalion received instructions for a new mission to mine the area of Lapithos - Karavas to prevent the Turkish advance. The mission was risky and required the laying of a large number of mines. In the afternoon of the same day the men of the Engineer, both enlisted and reserve, not exceeding 55 in total, proceeded to mine an area of Lapithos towards the edge of the mountain.
When they completed their mission in the evening, they were ordered to spend the night in Lapithos, with the intention of minesweeping the Karavas area on the following day.
Only they didn't have time. At dawn on August 6, the operation of the Turkish troops to occupy the two towns began. The Turks attacked all along the Karava-Lapithos front with a division numbering fourteen thousand men, forcing the soldiers of all units to order a retreat to the area of Vasileia.
The men of the 70th Engineer Battalion found themselves literally in an inferno of fire, trapped inside Lapithos.
They were ordered to split into three groups, under the command of reserve second lieutenants Marios Fysentzidis, Konstantinos Papapavlou and Michael Samson, and to retreat through the area of the Lapithos coastal front, to reach the predetermined rendezvous point with the Battalion's command in the area of Vasileia.
From the shelling and destruction a few men managed to escape, managing to escape from the coastal front of Lapithos.
Fate was cruel to the 31 lads of the 70 Engineer Battalion who were trapped in Lapithos. Few in number, large in stature, they remained on the battlefields fighting the invaders with self-denial. In their attempt to leave the areas which fell into the hands of the invaders, they were ambushed by Turkish soldiers and marines and fought their last battle like other Leonids.
In areas of Lapithos the remains of 16 lads of the Battalion were found. The remains were identified and handed over to their families:
The reserve officer Christos Tziamas, the reserve officer Kyriakos Giannou, the reserve officer Agathangelos Angelis, the reserve officer Yannis Zouvanis, the reserve officer Charalambos Kampouris, the reserve officer Charalambos Sergiou, the soldier Savvas Apostolidis, the soldier Andreas Poullaidis, Private Georgios Antoniadis, Private Vryonis Moniatis, Corporal Adamos Adamos, Corporal Vassilis Georgiadis, Sergeant Eleftherios Konstantinos, Sergeant Evangelos Evangellou, Lieutenant Marios Fysentzidis, Lieutenant Konstantinos Papapavlou.
To this day, the fate of 15 of their colleagues is still unknown. Reserve Andreas Aristotelous, Reserve Phoebus Meranos, Reserve Theodoros Varosiotis, Reserve Kostakis Isidoros, Reserve Panagiotis Hatzilukas, Reserve Ioannis Harilaos, Private Nikos Violaris, Private Pavlos Georgiou, Private Philip Konstantinos, Private Haralambos Stephanidis, Corporal Nikolaos Michael, Sergeant Phoebus Theodoros, Sergeant Andreas Taliadoros, Sergeant Nikola Hadjistavrou, Lieutenant Michael Samson.
The history, the military action and contribution of the Engineer Battalion during the Turkish invasion, but also afterwards, is enormous, since from August 1974 until October 1975, when Cyprus was healing the wounds of the war, the Engineer Battalion continued its struggle.
The losses of the Battalion during the dark days of the Turkish invasion were heavy. 49 years later we hold a holy memorial service. For the brave men who with self-denial and a sense of self-sacrifice fought for the defence of our homeland's territories and our freedom and who fell during the operations of 1974.
We remember the soldier Kostas Kallistratos of Andreas who took part in various mine laying missions to prevent Turkish advances. Kallistratou had received leave from his battalion on 11 August and on 14 August, with the onset of the second phase of the invasion, he set out to go to Klepini where his battalion was located. He reached Mia Milia and due to the clashes he remained there taking up a fighting position next to soldiers of other units. While riding, with other soldiers, in a National Guard vehicle near Tymbou, he was confronted by Turkish tanks. One shot struck the vehicle, resulting in a number of soldiers being injured and the rest abandoning the vehicle The remains of Kostas Kallistratos were identified when they were exhumed from a mass grave of four of the fallen, which was located in the Tympou area.
We commemorate the soldier Panagiotis Abraham of Miltiades, who fell for the freedom of our country on 3 August 1974, during a military operation in Pentadaktylos.
We remember Captain of the National Guard and Lieutenant Commander of the 70 Engineer Battalion Andreas Arrestis, who before the 1974 Turkish invasion was seconded to the 261 T.P. On 21 July 1974, Arrestis undertook the risky mission of neutralizing an important machine inside the Turkish Cypriot village of Limnitis, in which Turkish soldiers were entrenched in armour. He accomplished his mission but in the ensuing exchange of fire, he went down defending the territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus. Arrestis was transported by United Nations men and was initially buried at the Morphou Cemetery. His remains were exhumed and reburied in the free areas.
We remember the soldier of the 70th Engineer Battalion, Andreas Paraskevas of Nikos, who, as soon as the Turkish invasion began on 20 July 1974 and subsequently the general conscription, immediately joined the reserves at the nearest point to him in Nicosia and manned National Guard outposts in the area of the Central Prison. On 22 July Paraskeva fell defending the territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus and was buried in the Platres Cemetery.
We honour another man of the Engineer Battalion family, Sotiris Spyrou, whose traces were lost in a military operation during the Turkish invasion, fighting with the 251 T.
We also honour the heroes of the Engineers of the Hellenic Army of Cyprus (ELDYK), fallen and missing, who took part in the battles during the Turkish invasion.
Today we commemorate all of them, the worthy sons of our Cyprus. The heroic diggers of the freedom of our homeland, who were on the front line laying minefields, implementing route destructions, exposed to the Turkish forces, paying a heavy blood tax. Our young men, the heroic lads who with enviable courage, bravery, strength of soul and daring stood and resisted the attack and imposition of the Turkish army.
We honour their memory, feeling proud of the legacy they left us. Because our boys gave their lives for the freedom and independence of our country. The Republic of Cyprus owes its existence to these heroes, few in number but giants in soul. And we owe our dignity as free people.
At the same time, we pray for the recovery of our missing persons. Those whose traces were lost in the confusion of war, on the battlefields. And we assure you that our efforts, despite the difficulties and obstacles, will continue to the end. Until the discovery of the fate of our last missing person and the redemption of their families, who live with pain, anguish and unanswered questions. This is the focus of our efforts. The President of the Republic Mr. Nicos Christodoulides supports these efforts in every way and will continue to assist with all means to determine the fate of each of our missing persons.
This goal is our duty towards those who have struggled. To all those who gave their own lives for our country, for our freedom, and for those who are still missing. It is the path of responsibility, duty and dignity.
Glory and honor to our heroes.
(PM/MB)
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