The remains of eight Greek soldiers, listed as missing in action for decades, who fell during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 were repatriated on Friday after being flown back from the island republic.
The remains of the fallen soldiers arrived aboard a military transport plane at the Elefsina Air Base, with the arrival followed by a moving ceremony with full military honors, attended by Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias and relatives of the servicemen.
The eight soldiers served in the Hellenic Force in Cyprus, known in its abbreviated form as ELDYK, during the military invasion of Cyprus by Turkey in the summer of 1974. Their burials will take place in their hometowns around Greece, such as Megaplatanos Pella prefecture, Kesariani, Gortynia, Ano Liosia, Krya Vrysi Pella prefecture, Heraklion, Crete, Erymanthos Achaia prefecture and Kyparissia.
The fallen soldiers were:
– 2nd Lt. Konstantinos Tsagkalidis
– Warrant Ofc Georgios Analytes
– Infantry Warrant Ofcs Anastasios Kratimenos, Panagiotis Iliopoulos, Konstantinos Tsitiridis, Georgios Martzaklis, and Ilias Toulis
– Special Forces Warrant Ofc Ioannis Iliopoulos
The ceremony was also attended by the chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff, Lt.-Gen. Georgios Kostidis; the chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff, Vice-Adm. Dimitrios-Eleftherios Kataras and chief of the Hellenic Air Force General Staff, Lt.-Gen. Dimosthenis Grigoriadis.
