Greek American Servicemen Honored for their OXI – like Courage

WASHINGTON, DC – [Story, photos by OXI Day Foundation]

“It’s rare that one has the opportunity to be surrounded by individuals of such greatness and courage. This year, the Washington OXI Day Foundation did just that. We had the opportunity to recognize the incredible unrelenting courage of three Greek American service members”, said Andy Manatos, founder of the Foundation.

These modern day “heroes” were presented by retired four star General Andrew Poppas the Haseotes World War II Service Award, the Calamos Service Award and the OXI Service Award at the Colin Powell Library at the National War College in Fort McNair and again at the historic Washington National Cathedral and finally at the solemn wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

In attendance were H.E. Ambassador of the Hellenic Republic Antonis Alexandridis, family of the honorees, and foreign military attachés at the invitation of the Greek Defense Attaché Col Odysseas Papaevangelou and the OXI Day Foundation.

Eddie Lambros received posthumously the Haseotes Service Award made possible by the Haseotes/Bentas/Vinios families in memory of Vasilios Haseotes.

In introducing this award, Poppas pointed to a famous photograph of Lambros, a young paratrooper, and other American soldiers holding a Nazi flag which appeared on the front page of the New York Times. The very next day Lambros was killed in battle. Poppas said, when he looks at that photograph “I see a young soldier who volunteered to go into harm’s way,..who understood the mission might demand everything he had to give. And he did make that ultimate sacrifice”.

Of Haseotes, Poppas said, “Vasilios Haseotes was a young Greek that grew up in Constantinople, and he came to America in search of an opportunity and a better life. But when his adopted country in 1917 called, he answered that call for World War I and joined the United States Army. He saw some of the fiercest battles of World War I. Severely wounded by shrapnel, his lungs shredded from the effects of mustard gas, he returned to America, and built an extraordinary successful business…Cumberland Farms. It was started in 1939 with he and his wife with one cow and one calf. It now employs thousands of people and has hundreds of locations”.

“We are pleased to recognize each year such courageous individuals in memory of those so close to us, Vasilios Haseotes and Tim Bentas whose courage was seen as they risked their lives in their military service to our country”, said Lily Haseotes Bentas and Zacharie Haseotes Vinios.

In recognition of Greek American service men and women who fought in the Vietnam War, the Calamos Service Award was presented to Col. Mark Gatanas. Born in Chios, Greece, he served in the US Army for 26 years. He served two combat tours in Vietnam where at one point the rifle company he led was surrounded for over 88 hours by a force more than 20 times its size. Later he served as Assistant and Military Advisor to numerous ambassadors, including, the Reagan Administration’s “Bud” McFarlane who wrote that “Colonel Gatanas saved Lebanon from collapse”.  

Gatanas, who is just shy of 90 years old, walked to the podium to receive his award and exclaimed,” What the hell is an infantry Airborne Ranger officer doing with a cane?” and proceeded to throw it dramatically aside. In a conversation with John P. Calamos, Sr, he stated, “Colonel Gatanas and the men he led held their ground against overwhelming odds, and those of us flying above the Vietnam battlefield knew how much depended on soldiers like them. It is humbling to have my name on an award that honors his courage. As a fellow Vietnam veteran, I am proud to honor those who served in the Vietnam War and who too often faced hostile receptions upon their return home. Together with the Washington OXI Day Foundation, we give them the recognition they deserve. That commitment is the heart of the Calamos Service Award”.

In presenting Gatanas with the Calamos Service Award, Poppas told the story of John Calamos, a distinguished Air Force combat aviator in Vietnam. “Calamos logged over 800 hours in direct combat, flying a low-flying one-engine Cessna right above the ground fight exposed to enemy fire, operating in an environment where a single mistake could have deadly consequences. With the role of providing accurate, precision Air Force fires for the formation that’s on the ground his presence saved lives and brought the might of America to bear on our enemy. He later went on to have this incredibly remarkable career in business”.

The final award—the OXI Service Award was presented to Col Chris Countouriotis who leads one of, if not the most, elite special operations unit in the US military and the world and has led as General Poppas said, some of the most exquisite operations ever undertaken. In addition to the Awards presentation at the National War College, the recipients were also recognized at the evening gala event, which for the first time in the history of the Washington OXI Day Foundation was held at the revered Washington National Cathedral in the exact spot where US Presidents gather to pray in celebration of their inaugurations, as well, sit for the funerals of fellow presidents.

“The Washington OXI Day Foundation is pleased to recognize these distinguished heroes as well as pay tribute to the remarkable courage of the awards’ namesakes, John Calamos and Vasilios Haseotes”, said Andy Manatos. He continued, “from the ancient battlefields of Marathon and Thermopylae to OXI Day battles of World War II and to our brave soldiers of modern times, we applaud the character and courage of the Greek spirit”.

As Poppas says, “Different generations, very different battlefields, even different weapons. But the enduring warrior spirit remains. The same courage to face danger, the same loyalty to those beside you, and the same willingness to place duty, honor, and country above self. You remind us that the spirit of Oxi is not confined to just the history books. It lives in the character and courage of those who continue to serve”.