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- Ελληνικά
It is a painful duty that brought us here today, fifty years late, to pay our last respects to another worthy son of Cyprus, who fell heroically during the brutal Turkish invasion of 1974.
Commando Christakis Alexandrou,
With immense appreciation and gratitude, with modesty and humility, as you yourself lived your short life, we bow with respect to your abundant form and direct you to eternity.
Today, the State, together with your family, loved ones, friends and comrades-in-arms of the 33rd Ranger Squadron, with deep sorrow we escort you to your final destination. There where you will meet your long-suffering mother, who, with pain in her soul but also with extreme restraint, awaited your return. Unfortunately, events and the inexorable passage of time did not allow it.
Today we deliver you tear-stained to the bowels of the Cypriot land, the land that for decades covered your lifeless heroic body in its embrace, to be buried with the proper honours, as befits all the heroically fallen.
Your memory will remain eternally present, as an inexhaustible legacy, as a shining example of heroism and as a source of fortitude and strength.
Through your sacrifice the words of Pericles to the Athenians, in his famous Epitaph Discourse, echo sternly.
"I am of the opinion that death such as this here of the present dead provides the true measure of a man's worth, and sometimes it is the first to herald it, sometimes the last to seal it."
For death in your case also provides the measure of a man's worth, whether it be the first to announce it or the last to seal it.
Your brief presence in this world was crowned in an unparalleled manner by your sacrifice and glorious death. As Aeschylus meant it in the tragedy Agamemnon, when he said that "eukleos toi ktathanein haris broto", i.e. that there is great grace for people who die gloriously.
Because what matters most is not how many years one lives, but how one makes one's temporary presence in life tangible and how one gives meaning and depth to one's personal existence.
It is for this very reason that your father and brothers feel proud of you, as we all feel proud of you.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Christakis Alexandrou was the eldest son of Luke and Anna, who lived in Trachona. He had two other brothers, Alekos and Vasos. Since 1968 they moved to Acropolis.
On July 20, 1974, five days after the treasonous coup, the day the Turkish invader stepped on the soil of our country, Christakis Alexandrou was serving his military service in the 33rd Commando Squadron, which was based in Belapais.
On the day of the Turkish invasion of 1974, the Commando Squadrons of the National Guard were ordered to implement Plan "Tweezers". According to this, it was planned to occupy the heights of the Pentadaktylos mountain range, which surrounded the Ayrtas crossing. The aim was to eliminate the Turkish outposts and to prevent the coupling of the beachhead of the landing forces with the Turkish Cypriot enclave of Kioneli.
In the afternoon, the 33rd Squadron advanced to the dispersal areas, which were the starting point of the night action aimed at the "Petromuthkia" hill.
At 11 o'clock at night the operation began. Together with the 1st Company, after giving the signal for the attack, the legendary Serraean commander of the squadron, Major George Katsanis, marched in front. After three hours of fierce fighting, at 2 a.m. on July 21, the green flare that lit up the sky marked the successful completion of the mission, with the conquest of the heights "Petromuthkia" and "Tower Pavlidis". The next objective was Agios Hilarion, which by morning hours was placed under the possession of the brave fighters of the Squadron.
Although before first light it was expected that the R Rangers would be replaced by infantry units, as the Plans foresaw, this was never done.
In the early hours of the morning a hell of fire ensued, with the invaders, who had been reinforced with special forces, attacking them with ferocity.
The gradual depletion of ammunition, combined with the reinforcement of the Turkish forces and their support by the air force and navy, resulted in the order to disengage and return to the dispersal areas.
Amidst a hell of fire and many casualties, and despite grief at the tragic loss of their commander and disappointment at the turn of events, the Green Berets of the 33rd Squadron abandoned the hard-won and bloody peaks of the Pentadaktylus.
On the morning of 22 July, a squadron of the Squadron, headed by its Lieutenant Commander, received an order to reinforce the forces operating in the bridgehead in the area of Bitter Water and Agios Georgios Kyrenia.
On the morning of 22 July, a squadron of the Squadron, headed by its Lieutenant Commander, received an order to reinforce the forces operating in the bridgehead in the area of Bitter Water and Agios Georgios Kyrenia. There, parts of the National Guard were defending with great difficulty, since by then the Turkish troops had reinforced the landing forces with large numbers of soldiers, tanks and other war material.
Throughout the day, fierce but unequal battles were fought, due to the superiority of the Turkish troops.
Despite superhuman efforts, the cordon was narrowing. The glorious Lockjacks waged a legendary fight from the front.
They fired on all sides. The Turkish troops had them almost surrounded, but they remained there to fight, showing unparalleled bravery and spirit. In the end they were obliged to disengage by order to regroup at Belapais.
The division in which the late Christakis was in moved towards the region of Templus. North of the village it was met and surrounded by Turkish troops. Again hand-to-hand fighting took place. According to the testimonies of his comrades-in-arms, Christakis, although seriously wounded, fought bravely until the last moment, providing cover for them to move away and save themselves.
"Long live Greece", he exclaimed shortly before he fell dead under fire from Turks approaching the position where he was.
The repeated attempts of his comrades to approach him, as they had done the day before for their fallen commander, and to give him the necessary assistance proved fruitless. The sheer volume of Turkish fire forced them to flee for their lives, leaving him, unfortunately, dead on the battlefield.
His remains were found and identified decades later, as part of the Missing Persons' Committee's exhumation and remains identification programme.
Ladies and gentlemen,
At this time, words are proving poor to compensate for the pain of family, relatives and friends. They prove powerless to describe the painful anticipation of the mother and father.
The unbearable pain of that mother, who until nine months ago, shortly before she herself passed away, in the grief of the loss of her first-born son, never ceased for a moment to wait and hope for his return. They prove powerless to describe the agony of the father, who did not stop searching for the truth about the fate of his child.
They are powerless to soothe the open wound inflicted on their souls by the uncertainty and the tyrannically endless emotional acrobatics between hope and despair.
If there is anything that can be said with certainty today, it is that the supreme self-sacrifice of Christakis Alexander was the ideal and harmonious coupling of patriotism, loyalty and duty. It is precisely this coupling that led him and placed him in the golden delta of the heroes of Cypriot history.
Ranger Christakis Alexandrou,
Today, the homeland that you loved bids you farewell, paying you the minimum due tribute. Your life has been a path full of light. This light will remain, to follow your intangible presence in the minds of all Cypriot Hellenism.
Your heroic figure and the greatness of your sacrifice will forever nestle in our souls. Your memory, an unquenchable and inexhaustible source of strength, faith and perseverance will inspire each of us.
May your memory be eternal and your glory immortal.
May the earth that will cover you be light.
(MS/EATH)
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