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It is with great pleasure that I am here today, at Camp Pantelis Katelaris, on the day of the feast of Saint Paisios, patron saint of the Intervasion weapon. St. Paisios, in 1948, at a young age, under the name Arsenios Eznepidis, served in the Greek Army with the specialty of radio operator. Because of his humble and meek character and because of his love and preoccupation with the Divine and prayer, many accounts of his life describe him as a "radio operator of God".
On the occasion of today's celebration, I want to express my appreciation to the Commander of the Communications, Information Technology and Cyber Warfare Command and all personnel, officers, non-commissioned officers, contracted privates, National Guardsmen and civilian personnel for your sustained effort in achieving the goal of strengthening the Interceptor Force and maintaining a high degree of readiness.
Your professionalism, accuracy and high efficiency, as well as your willingness to upgrade and develop the National Guard's communications, fills us all with pride and optimism.
Today is a day of celebration for all the Interviewees, who for so many years, with full awareness of their duty, have served their weapon and the National Guard.
As did the previous generations of Interviewees.
As did the heroically fallen and killed in the line of duty.
As did the missing Interviewee soldier Andreas Demosthenous Hadjigavriel.
As did the missing Interviewee soldier Andreas Demosthenous Hadjigavriel.
It is with emotion and deepest respect, therefore, that we will today unveil the plaque for the missing Andreas Hadjigavriel, in order to pay due respect to another champion of our country's freedom, who with self-denial and determination carried out to the fullest extent, to the end, the mission entrusted to him.
Now, on the monument to the heroes of the Intervasions, among the honoured names of those who died during the Turkish invasion of 1974, Antonis Kaffas, Christofi Loizou and Christakis Georgiou and those who died in the line of duty, Christos Stefanos and Floros Petteridis, his name, Andreas Hadjigavriel, is included.
Andreas, "Agastinas" as our great hero Tasos Markos called him, the forward of the 45 Battalion of Transports, 20 years old in 1974, after completing his training in the summer of 1973, was assigned to the legendary Major's Unit, the 306 Infantry Battalion. Since August 1974, his fate has been unknown, as well as that of his Commander, following hand-to-hand fighting in the area of Mias Milia.
In a course of historical retrospection we return to the dark pages of the past, to the grim days of July and August 1974, when civil passions and the absurdity of the foolish coup d'état allowed Turkey to invade the Republic of Cyprus on 20 July, in violation of the United Nations Security Council Charter.
A few days before the 49th anniversary of the black summer of Cyprus, the sad memory of betrayal and destruction, a memory that is inexorable and unavoidable, inevitable and necessary, haunts our souls.
It palpates our still unhealed wounds, measures the unbearable pain and bears witness to all those heroic occasions when the daring and spiritedness of our brave men merged with wisdom and faith and were crowned by supreme heroic sacrifices, such as that of Andreas Hadjigavriel.
To the sacrifice of our fallen who, as a historical voice echoes in our memory, we reverently bow our heads and pay the minimum tribute, paying the laurels of our deepest respect and eternal gratitude.
Respected relatives of Andreas Demosthenes Hatzigavriel,
Today, we unveil the plaque of the missing Diavis, who, honoring the ideals, principles and values with which he was nurtured by your family, remained faithful to the oath he took to the National Guard to defend the homeland to the end.
As of today, Andrew, along with Anthony, Christofis, Christakis, Christos and Floros, brave and upright, will be here, and all the newest transferees, passing in front of the monument and seeing their names, will recall the obvious, unchallenged and self-evident, but often forgotten and marginalized verses of Kostis Palamas:
[I]"[...] our homeland is one[/I][I]and it is everywhere we go,[/I][I]and where we stand, inside us[/I][I]we are one homeland[/I][/I][I]".[/I]The scraping of the open wounds of the tragedy of '74 may wound us and revive the pain and suffering in our souls, but at the same time it strengthens and steels our faith and will to continue our struggle for liberation and the restoration of law and legitimacy in our semi-inhabited homeland.
"Of men's good deeds, deeds done, deeds and declarations of honour", Thucydides reminds us in Pericles' famous Epitaph speech to the Athenian citizens.
From the depths of history, the great Greek politician, orator and general, referring to the dead of the first year of the Peloponnesian War, suggests to us that those who have shown their bravery by deeds, we ought to honour them by deeds.
We have, therefore, a sacred duty and a supreme obligation to continue to strive for a better tomorrow, for a free homeland.
This will be the best memorial for those who by their deeds have shown us the way of morality, loyalty and struggle. This will be the greatest act of honour towards their unsurpassed sacrifice.
Their selfless, selfless choice to defend our country to the end is a beacon and compass for the continuation of our own efforts.
May the memory of all our heroically fallen be eternal and may the Almighty help to determine the fate of Andreas Demosthenes Hadjigavriel and all our missing persons.
(ΕΠ/ΣΧ)
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