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WHEN GREECE DID THE FIRST COMBAT WITH ISRAEL THE ISRAELIAN DEFENSE MINISTER SAID IF TURKEY ARE SO STUPID TO FIGHT GREECE THEY WILL NOT HAVE AN AIR FORCE IN 24 HOURS . WE THOUGHT THE ISRAEL PILOTS ARE CRAZY BUT THE GREEK ARE EVEN MORE CRAZY
THE SECOND QUESTION FROM THE ISRAELI REPORTER WAS WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE OF THE ISRAELI PILOTS AND THE GREEK HE SAID WE WANT THE PLANE AND THE PILOT BACK THE GREEK DON'T FUCK
I will write some stuff to get the context greece had a civil war . Basically the communist ignoring stalnin thought they were tough enough to make greece communist. The Brits backed greeks and the other side won. Now the greeks in korea were selected troops had people with experience in ww2 and greek civil war. Greece is hilly and that helped greeks to do bayonet charges. They had even officers that mat had fought I'm ww1. Now the civil war ended but that divided the greek society for years ip to now. The left are the good the right the bad. Which is bullshit. That's why u saw some naive comments. Usually are people that embrace capitalism and eu in every way but somehow they aspire to be rebels against the west. They are just fools as triptans the pm in greek crisis. All the fighting spirit left and some idiotic ego with fantasies stayed .
My grandfather who was a Greek civil war veteran was drafted for the Korean war, toughest man i have seen in my life he never complained about anything, he lost vision to his left eye there and he got shot twice once on the left shoulder and once on the right arm under the bicep, both wounds were through and through. He was an extremely cynical and pragmatic man and he was always happy to share war stories he was especially fond of telling stories about the stupidity of both comrades and the enemy in regard to tactical decisions or even the wrong use of military equipment. He never talked about the details of killing and when he was about to say that he killed a person he was always saying "i send him to god for judgment" instead, i never caught him talk bad (racially or otherwise) about his enemies. He died at the age of 98 years old recently and i miss him dearly.
Thanks for sharing your story and thanks to your grandfather for his service. He sounds like he was a good man. I’m glad he was able to share some stories with you. It’s very important that we don’t forget veterans stories
@@JustAnotherArmyVet he left me his bayonet, well with that size it is more like a sword than a bayonet, i would give a picture but youtube only allows youtube links.
@@Kwstas_Vagias no worries 🙂. If you want to email me, you are welcome to. I hear that those bayonets were about 11 inches long!! Wow. JustAnotherArmyVet@gmail.com
@JustAnotherArmyVet Yes this is true dear search about the Greek heavy cruiser battle ship George Averof 1911 the only ship in the world to was active in the 2 Balkan wars and in the 2 world wars. For many year's is a museum in Paleo Faliro.
@@mariakocini9312 Όλοι οι Έλληνες αξιωματικοί υπαξιωματικοί και στρατιώτες υπήρξαν γενναίοι ήρωες που αναχαίτησαν 3 διαδοχικές κινεζικές επιθέσεις των 2500 ανδρών η κάθε μία και ήταν μόνο 110 άτομα περίπου.
Cleaning the bayonet is not symbolic. It is actually the opposite. It's just respect for the dead. You don't carry around his blood on your blade as trophy. He's dead, so it's over. Read Iliad and you will find many references on the idea of how sacred respect to dead enemies was. Disrespecting a dead enemy was Hubris against ancient Greek gods. Serious blasphemy during war. It is fundamental part of the culture, so deep, those soldiers did it without thinking.
@@JustAnotherArmyVet Here's an example of how the mentality of the culture passed through generations. th-cam.com/video/qBpRfnrxUcg/w-d-xo.html Lyrics say. From Trojan castle, Andromachi talked with bitter voice to Hector leaving for battle. "Hey soldier, whoever really wants to live wins the battle. Whoever goes to battle to die is not good for war.". Hey soldier, if you want to win the battle, find a girl to love. Whoever doesn't oath his return, is loosing the war. It is oxymoron, but harsh conditions demand strong drive. The best way to get back is to do your best to win.
There is no symbolic reason to why the Greek soldiers cleaned their bayonets. It was that they hated the sight of blood as much as they hated war. The love for life and peace and the need to protect these ideals is what made the Greeks the most fierced fighters for thousands of years.
I served the Greek Navy at 1985. During the training they told us the bayonet needs to be clean always and not rusty. This is because it's a dishonest to would somebody and die from infection. You kill the enemy face to face and not by poison him.
I am Greek i felt so proud listening those Americans soldiers talking with so nice words for our soldiers. But also the Americans who fought that war deserves congratulations ! Love from Greece and thanks.
@@JustAnotherArmyVet modern greek history from 1945 is not really taught because of controversy of communism and right wing politics. Koreans and Americans know, and the families and towns these soldiers lived in and those who are interested in history.
My father (Greek Army Surgeon) served in the Korean war, was decorated (Bronze Star with Oak leaf). The Korean govt. was extremely thankful to the vets, my dad was invited every year to the special event in the Korean Embassy in honor of the vets. Great men all of them, Americans & Greeks
At the battle of Thermopylae the Persians sent out scouts to spy on the Greek camp. They witnessed Spartans cleaning themselves with wine and olive oil, combing their long hair, preparing to look their best and having a good time and being merry in the camp. Nothing that you would expect from people so close to death, so close to a fearsome hand to hand battle to ensue the next day. Yet they did it because they celebrated death with life. They wanted to look good for their death by enjoying life and all of its beautiful aspects before the big battle. Come 2500 years later their descendants did the same in the Korean war. A battle is rare joy and you best enjoy it to the fullest.
@@ikonographics there is nothing joyful in killing. A battle is fighting for your values and what you represent. That is where joy in what you are defending comes from.
FYI : A total of 10,255 Greek personnel sent to Korea. 186 or 187 were killed in action and 617 wounded in action. The bodies of all killed Greek soldiers had been returned back to Greece.
@@JustAnotherArmyVet In the capital city of Athens, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (unveiled 1932) is located in front of the Parliament building -originally Royal Palace- next to Syntagma Square. There lies a marble cenotaph dedicated to all Greek soldiers that have died in war. On the wall just behind, there is an image of a fallen soldier alongside inscribed text (including Thucydides’ phrase) and amongst other battle locations, the word “Korea”. I wonder how many passersby have noticed the reference to Korea, as I have passed by the memorial countless times and never had before. The monument is guarded by the Evzones, members of the Presidential Guard. A memorial dedicated exclusively to the Greek contribution in the Korean War can be found in the quiet residential Papagos area, erected by the Republic of Korea in 2003.
@@JustAnotherArmyVet In Greece whoever dies in a war been buried in his village or the place he is born, where his family is. They add his name in a Memorial in Athens but their body goes to the family. We born and raised with the 1st rule ever. Protect our country..Don't say what Greece can do for you but what YOU can do for Greece. Thank you
@@Tzavelas thank you for sharing. In the famous words of President John F. Kennedy, “ Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.” 🙂👍
As a Greek, I am humbled to hear of my based and fearless ancestors. Our generation better continue their honorable tradition, and not dissapoint them.
By cleaning the knifes after a battle apart from discipline shows respect to the opponents killed by your knife, shows valor and honor to your arms, and it is a way to appreciate thank god that you survived the battle. Soldiers were not butchers at that time.
Thank you for the excellent video. From a military point of view only and without any reference to the culture of the Greeks, the Greeks have no physical or intellectual difference from the rest of the world. What I believe makes a difference, is the psychology that our ancestors won in the overwhelming majority of battles. We can too. The cleaning of the swords is related to the honor that the Greeks place on weapons.
@@JustAnotherArmyVet I had read from veterans that it was considered quite sacrilege and disrespeact to the dead enemies to mix the blood of the killed opponents and that was a serious reason they cleaned their bayonets.
In WW2 Adolf Hitler said, “The Greek soldier, above all, fought with the most courage,” and Winston Churchill said, “Hence, we will not say that Greeks fight like heroes, but that heroes fight like Greeks.”
The value given by Hitler was heavier than Churchills. The first one was an enemy and said it out of respect and acknowledgment, but Churchill said it just to keep us fighting. We saw Churchills respect after the war ended.
You emotional reaction during the interviews just shows your empathy and connection to what they had to go through. Respect, keep up the good work with your videos.
Thank you! From Greece! The eastern frontier of West in Mediterranean. From ancient years Greeks are the gards there. No space for backwards, no cries, only duty.
The Hellenic army at Korean war did an amazing job BUT unfortunately, even Greeks dont know about it! The "enemy" had huge respect for them! Many thanks to all those US veterans talking about what they experienced with honesty, honoring their allies!
Thank you for showing your appreciation for our Greek soldiers. I have met with Australian and New Zealander veterans that took part in the famous battle of Crete against the Nazi Germans and all of them praised the Greek fighters. They had great stories of Greeks saving them on the battlefield and Greek families hiding them in their own homes and helped them escape and went back home safe and sound. One of them told me that "if it wasn't for the Greeks, I wouldn't be alive now and have my family and grandchildren. I owe my life to the brave Greeks" And they always attended the Battle of Crete anniversary celebrations.
@JustAnotherArmyVet it's a phrase that is in the mindset of every Greek soldier especially special forces. You can find it written on the walls or as a picture in many military camps.
And if I'm correct the first who said it was Pavlos Melas the most known Greek commander of the battles for Greek Macedonia. He wrote it on a letter for the next generation of Greek soldiers who were in the Military school.
"Be brave,don't be coward" This gentleman was really brave because brave is not someone who has no fear,brave is the person who conquer the fear. As a Greek i want to thank you for your content,we know that we had men deployed in Korea but we had no idea what happend back then.Hellas(Greece) has forged in war since the ancient times till WW II,we are the only nation in whole world (as far as i know at least) that celebrates the day that we joined WW II but not the end of it,not cause we are war hungry ,we celebrate that we stood our ground against fascism with practically zero chance to win.We hate war untill we need to defend our nation and country.
Thank you for that! My Father was Lt of 3rd Platton ,NAN Company (Greek Expeditionary Force) which supported that night fellow American soldiers. He was decorated by US Army with Star Medal for Valor. Great times great Men! RIP
There was a man in the Greek village of Asopos near Sparta (an associate of my mother) who went to fight in the Korean war. He was mostly cheerful before the war. When he came back, he hardly ever spoke to anyone even his family and his friends again. I cannot even imagine what he saw and suffered there that turned him into an empty husk...
The participation and feats of the Hellenic armed forces in the Korean war are widely uknown to outside and within Greece. Thank you for choosing this subject and bringing it to the attention of the world!
Thanks for your support! I’ve never heard of the story until someone has suggested that I react to this video actually. I’m glad that I did. It’s a story that needs to be told 🇬🇷🙏❤️
@@JustAnotherArmyVet Btw they probably cleaned the bayonets after use, cause of rust, or not getting stuck in the sheath. At least thats what they taught us in basic. Another interesting event you might wanna check out is the Battle of Hill 731.
@JustAnotherArmyVet it's not a forgotten war for America alone. It's also forgotten in Greece and i only met one man in England (Portsmouth) who remembered it but only because he was a veteran. He was very old in 2002 and to this day, he remains the only Brit i ever talked to about the Korean war.
@@christosacholos1082 I think Sabaton needs to sing some songs about this war. They are great at finding little known stories about wars, and sharing it it’s audience. We also need Indy Neidell!
Badassery at its finest. A nation of life hackers that always took on the so-called mighty and I'm proud to be Greek for this reason. What is also extraordinary are the ties between Americans and Greeks and how well they fought side by side, taking bullets for each other in the name of ever so elusive and desirable Freedom. Greeks don't fight like heroes, heroes fights like Greeks! Winston Churchill.
No Greek soldier went to Korea by force, all were volunteers and there is nothing more beautiful in the world than the heart and soul of a volunteer, you see them and feel that hope is not lost as the American veteran said: They danced and sang and let they knew it was their last time for the greeks war is a holiday and on holidays we sing and dance
Outpost Harry was a great moment - for both US & Greek troops. But... if you REALLY WANT to learn about the GREEK MADNESS in battle... search and read/learn about the notorious "HILL 731"!!! The "HILL 731" is the Greek "Hamburger Hill" (on NAM war). It was during the Spring Italian Counter-Attack. The ENTIRE Italian Army (with Mussolini present on the other hill a couple miles away!!!) charged to overcome the tired (and poor supplied) Greek Army. The Greek commander Major Dimitrios Kaslas (731 Batallion) gave his famous Daily Command and he simply wrote: " We will defend our positions until the end! A furious attack by the enemy is foreshadowed, which will certainly be repulsed and crushed by us! The enemy will pass from our location when we all die in our positions! No one will move backwards! Everyone will die in their positions! " The Hill 731 suffered DAYS of bombarding (from planes & artillery) - that much... that now, in the Albanian maps the hill is named "Hill 725", meaning THE HILL LOST SIX METERS height from the bombs!!!!!! After the bombarding, the Italians start charging the hill by thusands... when only a couple hundred Greeks were still alive!!! The Greeks defended their possitions with MACHINE-GUNS and small field artillery... and of course with their FAMOUS bayonette fight style!!! After DAYS of fighting, the Italians finally RETREATED and the Italian Counter-Attack failed!!! ...Only few dozen "GHOSTS" Greeks returned from that Hill... The rest Greeks when they saw them, couldn't believe these were HUMANS at all!!!!... With few rags covering their bodies, completely "white" (covered from white dust, from the bombarding), without food and water, barefoot... but STILL BRAVE marching down the hill!!! LEARN about probably THE MOST BRAVE MOMENT of Greek Army of WW2 - the "Battle of Hill 731"!!!! THIS IS A GREAT story to make a video, dear author!!! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hill_731
Thank you for posting this. One of my dad's stories was about a Greek Korean war vet, Jim Karfakis, telling him about what they did, dad had said on Pork Chop hill, which I didn't find Greeks being there. Maybe they were, but through this info I went down the rabbit hole to corroborate the Greeks' service at Outpost Harry (Hill 420) and Scotch Hill (313). The Greeks have been recognized with US presidential citations for their service, as well as in Greece. A monument honouring UN soldiers was unveiled in Korea in 2015 and the Greek ambassador represented all the sending states. According to wiki, Greece lost 15 officers and 168 men killed in action out of 5,000. Sparta Battalion went to Korea in 1950, fresh from Greece's vicious civil war (1946-49) that took place right after WWII when the cold war was dividing Europe. They sent the 5th largest contingent, many air force, before being recalled in 1955 due to Nato-ally Turkey's "Istanbul pogrom" that attacked Greeks living in Istanbul. I have the info handy 'cus I wrote a book to record my dad's many interesting (and heroic!) stories :- )
All veterans’ stories need to be preserved and passed on to future generations. It was stories so important. We cannot forget! Respect to all vets and respect to Greece- decades of war!! Wow.
An uncle of mine was operating aside American pilots and he managed to bomb the enemy lines and get back to Japan with one engine… We always fought aside and it seems we will we always be 🇬🇷❤🇺🇸 I’m proud as Greek-American for both of my countries!!!
I had asked my Korean War veteran grandfather when he was alive why they cleaned the bayonet after the battle. There was too much hand-to-hand fighting. He replied that it was out of respect for the dead. He may have had a wife children brothers. The bloody bayonet was an advertisement of his death and was forbidden.
As a Greek, thank you for highlighting the value of the Greek fighter!!! I am a proud descendant of Greek fighters of the Cretan revolutions against the Ottomans at the end of the 19th century, the Balkan Wars, the Asia Minor Campaign, WWII. My great-grandfather was captured by the Turks in 1922, managed to escape, walked hundreds of kilometers on foot until he reached the Aegean sea, after the front had collapsed and the Greek population of Smyrna was massacred. He was walking at night and as soon as he reached the sea he found a boat and crossed to Chios. He returned to Crete after he was already considered dead and commemorated as such. His son, my grandfather, fought the Italians and the Germans. Countless stories of heroism were told to me by those who knew him, while he himself never uttered a word. From others I learned of his exploits during the unfortunate civil war, where the Greek warriors distinguished themselves in unorthodox warfare in the mountains. These same fighters fought in Korea!!! The American soldier honored the Greek, I wish the American politician did too!!!
When Greeks arrived at "Harry"Outpost there were bodies all over the place and the stench was unbearable. They wordplay by renaming it to "Haros" or "Charos" which means the Angel of Death in Greek.
Awesome video and i agree the Greeks are really fearsome warriors they always been. if you go back in the Greek history, take a look at the Spartans no fear, no retreat and no surrender.
As a Greek i appreciate all these good words told by heroes and tough veterans of the US Army. I also remember the US soldiers and officers in our common NATO missions as the best colleagues and allies. Very friendly and helpful in any task and the greatest professionals in the entire world. I'd feel safer to fight next to them than any other army.
I never had the honor of working with the Greek soldiers on any missions. However, I’ve always heard good things about the Greek military from my buddies 🙂💙🇬🇷
When I was studying Electronics back in 1998, we had a very old professor in Physics. He was around 80 years old and he didn't want to become a pensioner. He had a very calm and steady voice. His books were all written by hand, in four languages: English, Greek, German and French, all mixed, so it was almost impοssible for us to read them! There was a rumor that when he was young, he had killed someone, and to avoid being imprisoned for life, he enlisted as a volunteer in the Greek Army, in the Korean expedition. Other professors were saying that he was fearless in battle and had honored with medals. But you couldn't imagine him like that by seeing this short, peaceful old guy. Rest in peace dr. Moukas.
Just awesome!!! Greek spirit, its like we know we will come back and we dont fear the reaper!!! So many stories about crazy Greek army. Thank you for this!!! Just awesome!!!
Never forget the 300 Spartans at Thermopile against the huge Persian Army! Leonides led his men into this battle knowing it was death to the last man! Greeks are born heroes and they die as heroes! God bless my brothers! Never to be forgotten!
Something must be said about the Greeks. Reading so much about them and their dynamism in wars, one would think that they are a warlike people. Exactly the opposite. The Greeks were a people ready for war, not a war-loving people, meaning that they were prepared for war but did not pursue it. There are three types of war: Offensive, Civil and Defensive. And the first two should be taught as examples to be avoided and the third to be imitated. Aggressive wars of conquest are waged by the powerful, who through war wishes to impose his power. This power of his makes him arrogant and in the end he will be fatally destroyed. Civil wars destroy the flower of youth on both sides of the same nation. Defensive wars aim at the defense of the Motherland, its Values and Ideals, it is the healthiest form of war and is a timeless example of imitation. It was the ideals and values that the Greeks carried in their souls, that made them fight in a specific manner and temperament.
I had a good laugh when you said that the Greek soldier didn't give a sh#t and just focused on kicking their @sses. That's the basic quality of the Greek soldier. They are born and trained just to kick @sses and defend their country no matter who's at the opposite side. They have thousands of years of war experience...so it's in their blood. They are born soldiers.
Theese guys back then my grand father too were truly bad asses, ww2 veterans, Greek civil war veterans with almost a decade full of combats... Ordinary men with exrodinary courage, fearless guys brutal warriors... The only soldier in ww2 who return fire in German stucas with their rifles...!!! That been said by Herman Gering... Our heroes our grand fathers our reason that we are what we are today. Thanks vet, you have our love.
Greek here. The cleaning of the bayonets is for them not to rust but also shows respect to the blade itself. Kind of as you would treat your friend after the battle,clean em up and wipe the dirt off of them,it's the same exact thing. It is also I believe something g that runs in Greek blood,the bayonet that is,since ancient times. So essentially,treat your blade with respect,keep it clean and not rusty and take care of your "friend"
At 8:38 this wasnt to entice the Chinese. From antiquity us Greeks before battle have a feast because this could be our last.There is a story that a Persian spy during the Greco - Persian wars (antiquity) saw some Greek troops prior battle to bathe ,comb their hair and feast. The spy reported that to the king and the king asked a Greek who has defected to the kings court why they do that.The Greek reported that is a custom us Greeks have that if we die in battle we must look good in the Underworld (Hades). Pure baddassery right?
This was the night before the Battle of Thermopylae. When 300 Spartans fought 1 million Persians. If it weren’t for Ephialtes, the traitor, the Persians were ready to abandon and leave. The Spartans managed to defeat the Persian Elite, the Immortals, over and over again. Ephialtes showed the Persians a little path that lead them behind the Greek lines. That is how they won this battle. When Leonidas fell, all of the remaining soldiers made sure that their body would fall on top of him as they were being killed one after the other, with their shields covering them. In Sparta, when soldiers were going to war their mothers/wives would hand them their shield saying: either with it or on it. Meaning: you come back either holding it or dead, laying on it. That is why Greeks never retreat.
Those Greek soldiers were all veterans of many years of battle. Fought in WW2 , many of them were members of the resistance , and also fought in the Greek civil war. Greeks who went to Korea were all volunteers and crack troops, they were also very experienced in mountain warfare. They were also very experienced woth using american weapons , they had used them in the Greek civil war. Americans troops were mostly Green in Korea. What you see in the video is the diffrence between battle hardened veterans and basically new conscripts. I am sure those USA boys fought much better in the battles that followed. Like the Germans said in WW2 afterall , the biggest advantage of the American army was its capability to learn fast and adapt to any situation extremely fast
@@aokiaoki4238 thats what I said. You propably did not read my comment carefuly. All Greeks that went to Korea were volunteers. Best of the best. And the officers were all English speakers , it was a requirement to get chosen as an officer so that the unit could cooperate with the american units without language barriers. That unit that went to Korea was one of the best Greek army units ever assembled in modern Greek history. All elite veterans , some of multiple wars. Also they were all extremely experienced in moutain warfare , Greek civil war was all mountain battles and pretty brutal one and full of hate , you know these type of civil engaments are the toughest. That unit we send there was the perfect unit for the warfare in Korea. You can google another epic battle they had for the Hill 420 if I remeber correctly.
@@aokiaoki4238 almost all were professional soldiers , veterans of the civil war and ww2. Very few conscripts if any. I will have to check my sources again but I remember they all volunteered thats certain
the Greeks, when they killed someone with a bayonet, wiped the blood, because they considered it a matter of honor not to kill the next person with a "bayonet stained" with another's blood
Ahhh, The Greeks aka Hellenes! Winston Churchill: the Hellenes do not fight like heroes! Heroes fight like the Hellenes! And the Hellenic history has incalculable examples of bravery and sacrifice, for the last 4 millennia…
I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS. I WILL TELL YOU THE SECRET WHY WE GREEKS FIGHT SO CRAZY GREECE IS OUR MOTHER AND THERE IS NOT A GREEK WHO WOULD NOT DEFEND HIS MOTHER. WE DON'T DEFEND OUR COUNTRY WE DEFEND OUR MOTHER!!!
The cleaning of the bayonets is a sign of respect for the soldier that fallen from it .The time spending cleaning the bayonet from another soldier's blood is a time to honour him that he fell bravely under it. Much love and respect from Greece
Posthumous fame. (Υστεροφημία Greek ) The ultimate purpose of life of the ancient Greeks . I think our grant fathers who fought in Korea they achieved their goal. Their exploits will be recounted from generation to generation but also through TH-cam all over the world. I am proud to be Greek🇬🇷
Praise greeks because they got BIG heart, ofcourse not everyone is perfect but i live here in Greece many years and thats something i respect the most but love the weather and food :D
I WAS 1 YEAR OLD WHEN MY PARENTS BROUGHT ME TO GERMANY I LIVED IN GERMANY FOR 42 YEARS BUT WHEN I TURNED 18 YEARS OLD I JOINED THE GREEK ARMY. MY PARENTS WERE GREEK AND I WILL DIE A GREEK!!!!!!!!!!!!
My dear, throughout our long long history, we Greeks were fighting in our ancestral years with swords and shields, one practically side by side with your best friend, even in the copper age, or the first iron age, so after the fight we had to clean our swords of the blood because it would rust. That's why our army officers always in the most recent years gave orders to clean our bayonets, to honour all the men that fell unlucky facing our army. It's all about tradition, my dear. I salute you all!
Should be kept in mind, that Greeks were the only Europeans that kept on fighting after WWII, during the Greek Civil War, By the time they went to Korea, most of them had over a decade of continuous combat experience in commando-level conditions of altitude and weather. they were the ideal troops for Korean warfare.
My father never spoke of his time in Korea only he was a radio operator. After his death in 2019 i found a photo album of his time in Korea. He was at Outpost Harry 1952, 53. My father is actuall shown in the documentry "Hold at all cost". he appears as the fist man shown at the end wearing the white scarf. Sgt first class William F Rahner
My grandpa had also volunteered to the Korean War. Got Shot once but tankfully came back in one piece! I remember me an all my cousins gathering at his place and waiting eagerly to hear his stories from the war instead of bedtime stories. So all of us serviced either on the special forces or in the armoured tank unit at the Borderline...in his memory! Thank you for your video! Brought back many memories!
The truth is according to history facts and from the interviews from those Greeks veterans is that the US army had a huge losses for harry post and the last solution was to send the Greeks to the death sentence they didnt care much about them for the them was the scrape goat.but those Greeks prove theme wrong and came back alive.another facts is the one of the major errors that the usa army done is the altilery shoot the greek and at least one die under those friendly fires.the reality is that the usa had no business there or any where in this time i think you can agree that all it happens about natural resources and keep the war machine alive.
As a Greek, I want to thank you for this video and for your nice words about us. One detail I would like to add, is that all the Greeks that served in Korea were volunteers. Thank you once again.
Yes, all of them. Every family from my village Ammos, Messinias, had a son that volunteered to go and fight over to Korea. When my grand-uncle returned, he never said anything about what happened, except two times. The first when he spoke to my uncles before they went to fight at Cyprus, and the second and final time, 5 years before his death, were he gathered all his grand-nephews and told us, in detail. We all felt that he was passing the mantle to us, to stand when and where is need, to face death with a smile and rejoice that when the inevitable comes will be greeted by our forefathers in song and glory. (it was when we had the Imia incident, and thought that we might go to war with Turkey). No Greek loves war, but every Greek, man or woman, will here the call!
Thank you for your service and the kind words greetings from ellada! Every single Greek man is a soldier by blood. No fear no retreat no surrender. We’re ready to die with a smile on our faces. We will be er lose our motherland again. 400 years of slavery taught us to endure and fight until we gain our freedom. No battle is to hard no mountain is to high and no enemy too strong. Sadly we are poor and our leaders are corrupt and the people are divided but as soon as we are attacked every single one of us stands together and fight until death. We’re ready to die with our pride and honour intact. Im looking forward to serve my country as soon as I’m done with university, just like every single ancestor of mine. Ελευθερία η θάνατος. 🇬🇷
I'm from Greece and my grandfather was at the Korean war. Today is 96 years old and he is pretty much in good condition.. I know a lot of war stories from him and for me is a mystery why he is always wanted to tell them to me when he never wants to talk to anybody else!!!
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WHEN GREECE DID THE FIRST COMBAT WITH ISRAEL THE ISRAELIAN DEFENSE MINISTER SAID IF TURKEY ARE SO STUPID TO FIGHT GREECE THEY WILL NOT HAVE AN AIR FORCE IN 24 HOURS . WE THOUGHT THE ISRAEL PILOTS ARE CRAZY BUT THE GREEK ARE EVEN MORE CRAZY
THE SECOND QUESTION FROM THE ISRAELI REPORTER WAS WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE OF THE ISRAELI PILOTS AND THE GREEK HE SAID WE WANT THE PLANE AND THE PILOT BACK THE GREEK DON'T FUCK
I will write some stuff to get the context greece had a civil war . Basically the communist ignoring stalnin thought they were tough enough to make greece communist. The Brits backed greeks and the other side won. Now the greeks in korea were selected troops had people with experience in ww2 and greek civil war. Greece is hilly and that helped greeks to do bayonet charges. They had even officers that mat had fought I'm ww1. Now the civil war ended but that divided the greek society for years ip to now. The left are the good the right the bad. Which is bullshit. That's why u saw some naive comments. Usually are people that embrace capitalism and eu in every way but somehow they aspire to be rebels against the west. They are just fools as triptans the pm in greek crisis. All the fighting spirit left and some idiotic ego with fantasies stayed .
@@jothegreek WW1 vets?? Oh wow. Thank you so much for your insight!
The Greek name is 'outpost Haros' Haros' is ferryman to underworld, the grimreaper, the scytheman.
My grandfather who was a Greek civil war veteran was drafted for the Korean war, toughest man i have seen in my life he never complained about anything, he lost vision to his left eye there and he got shot twice once on the left shoulder and once on the right arm under the bicep, both wounds were through and through.
He was an extremely cynical and pragmatic man and he was always happy to share war stories he was especially fond of telling stories about the stupidity of both comrades and the enemy in regard to tactical decisions or even the wrong use of military equipment.
He never talked about the details of killing and when he was about to say that he killed a person he was always saying "i send him to god for judgment" instead, i never caught him talk bad (racially or otherwise) about his enemies.
He died at the age of 98 years old recently and i miss him dearly.
Thanks for sharing your story and thanks to your grandfather for his service. He sounds like he was a good man. I’m glad he was able to share some stories with you. It’s very important that we don’t forget veterans stories
@@JustAnotherArmyVet he left me his bayonet, well with that size it is more like a sword than a bayonet, i would give a picture but youtube only allows youtube links.
@@Kwstas_Vagias no worries 🙂. If you want to email me, you are welcome to. I hear that those bayonets were about 11 inches long!! Wow. JustAnotherArmyVet@gmail.com
That was a real man right there. RIP.
A special man your grandfather!
You must feel very proud of him, he is watching you now from the balconies of heaven.🙏
the greek navy is the only one whose ships have never lowering a flag in war
Interesting!
@JustAnotherArmyVet
Yes this is true dear search about the Greek heavy cruiser battle ship George Averof 1911 the only ship in the world to was active in the 2 Balkan wars and in the 2 world wars. For many year's is a museum in Paleo Faliro.
@@Pavlos-sx6zp oh wow! I will 👍
My uncle was in that buttle in the hill .he did talk about it much .
@@mariakocini9312
Όλοι οι Έλληνες αξιωματικοί υπαξιωματικοί και στρατιώτες υπήρξαν γενναίοι ήρωες που αναχαίτησαν 3 διαδοχικές κινεζικές επιθέσεις των 2500 ανδρών η κάθε μία και ήταν μόνο 110 άτομα περίπου.
Cleaning the bayonet is not symbolic. It is actually the opposite. It's just respect for the dead. You don't carry around his blood on your blade as trophy. He's dead, so it's over. Read Iliad and you will find many references on the idea of how sacred respect to dead enemies was. Disrespecting a dead enemy was Hubris against ancient Greek gods. Serious blasphemy during war. It is fundamental part of the culture, so deep, those soldiers did it without thinking.
It does make sense. Thank you for clarifying that 👍🇬🇷
@@JustAnotherArmyVet Here's an example of how the mentality of the culture passed through generations.
th-cam.com/video/qBpRfnrxUcg/w-d-xo.html
Lyrics say.
From Trojan castle, Andromachi talked with bitter voice to Hector leaving for battle. "Hey soldier, whoever really wants to live wins the battle. Whoever goes to battle to die is not good for war.". Hey soldier, if you want to win the battle, find a girl to love. Whoever doesn't oath his return, is loosing the war.
It is oxymoron, but harsh conditions demand strong drive. The best way to get back is to do your best to win.
@@themisangelopoulos3414 great, thanks!!
its symbolic for those doing it , between them not doing it! and ofc its a way to show respect to the dead, kinda knighthood like
!!!!!
Correct U R!!!
Respect for the dead EVEN IF HE WAS THE ENEMY!
Peace!
There is no symbolic reason to why the Greek soldiers cleaned their bayonets. It was that they hated the sight of blood as much as they hated war. The love for life and peace and the need to protect these ideals is what made the Greeks the most fierced fighters for thousands of years.
Thank you for your insight!
I served the Greek Navy at 1985. During the training they told us the bayonet needs to be clean always and not rusty. This is because it's a dishonest to would somebody and die from infection. You kill the enemy face to face and not by poison him.
That makes sense! Thank for clarifying!
I am Greek i felt so proud listening those Americans soldiers talking with so nice words for our soldiers. But also the Americans who fought that war deserves congratulations ! Love from Greece and thanks.
Love and respect from South Carolina 🌴🙏💙
As a Greek thank you for that!
You made me proud!!!
Keep on..
You are so sweet. Thanks for your support 🤗
I am greek and I am proud for this video.thank you very much
My pleasure! Thanks for watching!
Even greeks in Greece dont know about this, and you do. true soldier!
Is this not taught in History classes in Greece?? Well, thanks for your support!
@@JustAnotherArmyVet modern greek history from 1945 is not really taught because of controversy of communism and right wing politics.
Koreans and Americans know, and the families and towns these soldiers lived in and those who are interested in history.
@@wtfhellas thanks for explaining
WE GREEK LAUGH WHEN WE FIGHT THERE IS NO BETTER DEATH THAN DYING FOR OUR MOTHER GREECE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
🇬🇷💙
ΕΥΧΑΡΙΣΤΩ! 🇬🇷✝️🇺🇸GOD BLESS
God bless you and your family 🙏❤️
My father (Greek Army Surgeon) served in the Korean war, was decorated (Bronze Star with Oak leaf). The Korean govt. was extremely thankful to the vets, my dad was invited every year to the special event in the Korean Embassy in honor of the vets. Great men all of them, Americans & Greeks
Respect!!
At the battle of Thermopylae the Persians sent out scouts to spy on the Greek camp. They witnessed Spartans cleaning themselves with wine and olive oil, combing their long hair, preparing to look their best and having a good time and being merry in the camp. Nothing that you would expect from people so close to death, so close to a fearsome hand to hand battle to ensue the next day. Yet they did it because they celebrated death with life. They wanted to look good for their death by enjoying life and all of its beautiful aspects before the big battle.
Come 2500 years later their descendants did the same in the Korean war. A battle is rare joy and you best enjoy it to the fullest.
There is nothing joyful about a battle .
Thank you for sharing your insight. I really appreciate it.
@@ikonographics there is nothing joyful in killing. A battle is fighting for your values and what you represent. That is where joy in what you are defending comes from.
Thank you kind lady for the reaction video! Greetings from the Greek island of Cyprus!
Thanks for your support! Respect from South Carolina! 🤗
@@JustAnotherArmyVet 🇬🇷🇺🇸♥️
My best wishes from Greece 💙
Thanks! Same to you! And greetings from South Carolina!
as a Greek and proud true Macedonian im happy i know your channel..amazing work and videos
Thank you kindly! Respect from South Carolina!
FYI : A total of 10,255 Greek personnel sent to Korea. 186 or 187 were killed in action and 617 wounded in action. The bodies of all killed Greek soldiers had been returned back to Greece.
Are they buried in a special military cemetery ?
@@JustAnotherArmyVet In the capital city of Athens, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (unveiled 1932) is located in front of the Parliament building -originally Royal Palace- next to Syntagma Square. There lies a marble cenotaph dedicated to all Greek soldiers that have died in war. On the wall just behind, there is an image of a fallen soldier alongside inscribed text (including Thucydides’ phrase) and amongst other battle locations, the word “Korea”. I wonder how many passersby have noticed the reference to Korea, as I have passed by the memorial countless times and never had before. The monument is guarded by the Evzones, members of the Presidential Guard.
A memorial dedicated exclusively to the Greek contribution in the Korean War can be found in the quiet residential Papagos area, erected by the Republic of Korea in 2003.
@@JustAnotherArmyVet In Greece whoever dies in a war been buried in his village or the place he is born, where his family is. They add his name in a Memorial in Athens but their body goes to the family. We born and raised with the 1st rule ever. Protect our country..Don't say what Greece can do for you but what YOU can do for Greece. Thank you
@@Tzavelas thank you for sharing. In the famous words of President John F. Kennedy, “ Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.” 🙂👍
As a Greek, I am humbled to hear of my based and fearless ancestors. Our generation better continue their honorable tradition, and not dissapoint them.
Respect!
By cleaning the knifes after a battle apart from discipline shows respect to the opponents killed by your knife, shows valor and honor to your arms, and it is a way to appreciate thank god that you survived the battle.
Soldiers were not butchers at that time.
Thank you for taking the time the comment. I appreciate it 🙂
Thank you for the excellent video. From a military point of view only and without any reference to the culture of the Greeks, the Greeks have no physical or intellectual difference from the rest of the world. What I believe makes a difference, is the psychology that our ancestors won in the overwhelming majority of battles. We can too.
The cleaning of the swords is related to the honor that the Greeks place on weapons.
@@petrosskarlatidis9577 I understand your point. Thank you 🙂
@@JustAnotherArmyVet I had read from veterans that it was considered quite sacrilege and disrespeact to the dead enemies to mix the blood of the killed opponents and that was a serious reason they cleaned their bayonets.
@@athanasopoulosathan I do appreciate you sharing that. Thanks 👍
In WW2 Adolf Hitler said,
“The Greek soldier, above all, fought with the most courage,”
and Winston Churchill said,
“Hence, we will not say that Greeks fight like heroes, but that heroes fight like Greeks.”
Well said quotes!
The value given by Hitler was heavier than Churchills. The first one was an enemy and said it out of respect and acknowledgment, but Churchill said it just to keep us fighting. We saw Churchills respect after the war ended.
@@Wolf-Law77 you are right
1974🤣🤣🤣
Το δέντρο της ελευθερίας ποτίζεται με αίμα.
The tree of freedom is watered with blood.
The highest honor is giving your life for your country🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷
Respect! 🇬🇷
We are always ready to defend the honor of the Fatherland
Ελλαδα μου σ'αγαπω🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷
Rightly so!
Και το δένδρο δικτατορίας και κομουνισμου αρχιζη με κουλι.
I love American Soldiers and Greek Soldiers very much.🥰😍🤗
Me too 🤗❤️🇬🇷🇺🇸
Greek army has no fear! Respect form Greece!
Thank you! Respect from South Carolina!
I glad there are still people who know what our ancestors did.
I am glad their story is being shared
there is no greater honor than being called brave by a brave man
Respect!! 💙🇬🇷
You emotional reaction during the interviews just shows your empathy and connection to what they had to go through. Respect, keep up the good work with your videos.
Thank you ❤️. I appreciate your comment!
Bravo my friend. No body are talking about it, not even our government. thank u.
Thank you for your support!
Thanks!
You are so kind and generous!! Thank you for your support 🤗
Thank you! From Greece! The eastern frontier of West in Mediterranean. From ancient years Greeks are the gards there. No space for backwards, no cries, only duty.
Respect and love from South Carolina 🌴💙🙏
I am greek,i was a paratrooper in the army,i am telling you it is a joy and an obligation to stand next to good people against the darkness
Thanks so much for commenting and for your service 🙏🇬🇷💙🇺🇸💙
Thank you and everyone who gives me the opportunity to do something good
Thank you for bringing this story to surface! Greatings and respect from Greece!
Thanks for watching! Respect and Greetings from South Carolina!
I didn't know this story. Greetings from Macedonia, Greece.
@@GR-vm9qb great story!
@@JustAnotherArmyVet yes indeed! Thank you.
@@GR-vm9qb 🤗💙
The Hellenic army at Korean war did an amazing job BUT unfortunately, even Greeks dont know about it! The "enemy" had huge respect for them! Many thanks to all those US veterans talking about what they experienced with honesty, honoring their allies!
Respect!
I forgot (before in my other comment) as a greek to say THANK YOU for sharing this story
Thank you for your support. 🙂🇬🇷
Listening to all these veterans talk is amazing.
Yes. These stories need to be preserved
Thank you for showing your appreciation for our Greek soldiers. I have met with Australian and New Zealander veterans that took part in the famous battle of Crete against the Nazi Germans and all of them praised the Greek fighters. They had great stories of Greeks saving them on the battlefield and Greek families hiding them in their own homes and helped them escape and went back home safe and sound. One of them told me that "if it wasn't for the Greeks, I wouldn't be alive now and have my family and grandchildren. I owe my life to the brave Greeks" And they always attended the Battle of Crete anniversary celebrations.
My pleasure! Thanks for your support. I had no idea that Australia and New Zealand actually took place in the battle crate. Thanks for sharing!
"If I march on, follow me.
If I retreat, shoot me dead.
If I fall in battle, avenge me"
What is that from?
@JustAnotherArmyVet it's a phrase that is in the mindset of every Greek soldier especially special forces. You can find it written on the walls or as a picture in many military camps.
And if I'm correct the first who said it was Pavlos Melas the most known Greek commander of the battles for Greek Macedonia. He wrote it on a letter for the next generation of Greek soldiers who were in the Military school.
@@orangeflame7917 I like the phrase 🇬🇷👍💙
WE ARE BORN TO FIGHT IT'S IN OUR BLOOD LIKE THE SPARTANS.
Yes, respect!
@@aekara1924kostas GAY...🤭
"Be brave,don't be coward" This gentleman was really brave because brave is not someone who has no fear,brave is the person who conquer the fear.
As a Greek i want to thank you for your content,we know that we had men deployed in Korea but we had no idea what happend back then.Hellas(Greece) has forged in war since the ancient times till WW II,we are the only nation in whole world (as far as i know at least) that celebrates the day that we joined WW II but not the end of it,not cause we are war hungry ,we celebrate that we stood our ground against fascism with practically zero chance to win.We hate war untill we need to defend our nation and country.
Well said!! And I think you’re right. No other country does that…And that one brave soldier really touched me. I’m sure you saw my tears ❤️💙
Thank you for that! My Father was Lt of 3rd Platton ,NAN Company (Greek Expeditionary Force) which supported that night fellow American soldiers. He was decorated by US Army with Star Medal for Valor. Great times great Men! RIP
You must be very proud. Thanks to All those veterans for their service!!
There was a man in the Greek village of Asopos near Sparta (an associate of my mother) who went to fight in the Korean war. He was mostly cheerful before the war. When he came back, he hardly ever spoke to anyone even his family and his friends again. I cannot even imagine what he saw and suffered there that turned him into an empty husk...
Sadly, that is the story of many veterans.. 😢
The participation and feats of the Hellenic armed forces in the Korean war are widely uknown to outside and within Greece. Thank you for choosing this subject and bringing it to the attention of the world!
Thanks for your support! I’ve never heard of the story until someone has suggested that I react to this video actually. I’m glad that I did. It’s a story that needs to be told 🇬🇷🙏❤️
@@JustAnotherArmyVet Btw they probably cleaned the bayonets after use, cause of rust, or not getting stuck in the sheath. At least thats what they taught us in basic.
Another interesting event you might wanna check out is the Battle of Hill 731.
@@Cpt.Blackadder ah yes, definitely!
@JustAnotherArmyVet it's not a forgotten war for America alone. It's also forgotten in Greece and i only met one man in England (Portsmouth) who remembered it but only because he was a veteran. He was very old in 2002 and to this day, he remains the only Brit i ever talked to about the Korean war.
@@christosacholos1082 I think Sabaton needs to sing some songs about this war. They are great at finding little known stories about wars, and sharing it it’s audience. We also need Indy Neidell!
Badassery at its finest. A nation of life hackers that always took on the so-called mighty and I'm proud to be Greek for this reason. What is also extraordinary are the ties between Americans and Greeks and how well they fought side by side, taking bullets for each other in the name of ever so elusive and desirable Freedom.
Greeks don't fight like heroes, heroes fights like Greeks! Winston Churchill.
Respect !
My dad faught in Korea as a proud Greek and use to speak about his American and Australian friends..brothers in arms always
Thanks to your father for his service!! Respect ! 🇬🇷💙
As a Greek Thank you for doing something that our government never teach us in schools, never teach us something to be proud of anymore. thank you 😢❤
I’m sorry that don’t teach this. I don’t remember learning about this in school either 🙁. I appreciate your support 💙🇬🇷
I feel so proud, Thank you!
Awe thanks for watching 💙🇬🇷🇺🇸🙏
No Greek soldier went to Korea by force, all were volunteers and there is nothing more beautiful in the world than the heart and soul of a volunteer, you see them and feel that hope is not lost as the American veteran said: They danced and sang and let they knew it was their last time for the greeks war is a holiday and on holidays we sing and dance
Respect!
My Greek father was there and I’m so proud of him..
Respect! 🇬🇷💙🙏
Hence, we will not say that Greeks fight like heroes, but that heroes, fight like Greeks - Winston Churchill
Respect!
Outpost Harry was a great moment - for both US & Greek troops.
But... if you REALLY WANT to learn about the GREEK MADNESS in battle... search and read/learn about the notorious "HILL 731"!!!
The "HILL 731" is the Greek "Hamburger Hill" (on NAM war). It was during the Spring Italian Counter-Attack. The ENTIRE Italian Army (with Mussolini present on the other hill a couple miles away!!!) charged to overcome the tired (and poor supplied) Greek Army.
The Greek commander Major Dimitrios Kaslas (731 Batallion) gave his famous Daily Command and he simply wrote:
" We will defend our positions until the end! A furious attack by the enemy is foreshadowed, which will certainly be repulsed and crushed by us! The enemy will pass from our location when we all die in our positions! No one will move backwards! Everyone will die in their positions! "
The Hill 731 suffered DAYS of bombarding (from planes & artillery) - that much... that now, in the Albanian maps the hill is named "Hill 725", meaning THE HILL LOST SIX METERS height from the bombs!!!!!! After the bombarding, the Italians start charging the hill by thusands... when only a couple hundred Greeks were still alive!!! The Greeks defended their possitions with MACHINE-GUNS and small field artillery... and of course with their FAMOUS bayonette fight style!!! After DAYS of fighting, the Italians finally RETREATED and the Italian Counter-Attack failed!!!
...Only few dozen "GHOSTS" Greeks returned from that Hill...
The rest Greeks when they saw them, couldn't believe these were HUMANS at all!!!!... With few rags covering their bodies, completely "white" (covered from white dust, from the bombarding), without food and water, barefoot... but STILL BRAVE marching down the hill!!!
LEARN about probably THE MOST BRAVE MOMENT of Greek Army of WW2 - the "Battle of Hill 731"!!!!
THIS IS A GREAT story to make a video, dear author!!!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hill_731
It is an amazing story! They should make a movie out of it!! Or Sabaton needs to make a song on it!!
proud to be Greek American by birth
🇬🇷💙
Thanks for this bit of great history, much appreciated.
You are welcome! Thanks for watching 🙂
Thank you for posting this. One of my dad's stories was about a Greek Korean war vet, Jim Karfakis, telling him about what they did, dad had said on Pork Chop hill, which I didn't find Greeks being there. Maybe they were, but through this info I went down the rabbit hole to corroborate the Greeks' service at Outpost Harry (Hill 420) and Scotch Hill (313). The Greeks have been recognized with US presidential citations for their service, as well as in Greece. A monument honouring UN soldiers was unveiled in Korea in 2015 and the Greek ambassador represented all the sending states. According to wiki, Greece lost 15 officers and 168 men killed in action out of 5,000. Sparta Battalion went to Korea in 1950, fresh from Greece's vicious civil war (1946-49) that took place right after WWII when the cold war was dividing Europe. They sent the 5th largest contingent, many air force, before being recalled in 1955 due to Nato-ally Turkey's "Istanbul pogrom" that attacked Greeks living in Istanbul. I have the info handy 'cus I wrote a book to record my dad's many interesting (and heroic!) stories :- )
All veterans’ stories need to be preserved and passed on to future generations. It was stories so important. We cannot forget! Respect to all vets and respect to Greece- decades of war!! Wow.
Greeks are used to hand-to-hand combat from Sunday dinners with the extended family. 💥🤯🤬💥
Interesting 👀🤯
@@JustAnotherArmyVet - 🙂
haha... correct!
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ 🇬🇷🇬🇷🇨🇾🇨🇾
💙🇬🇷
Greeks trying not to turn any kind of weapon into a Phalanx's spears
Mission impossible
I think TH-cam deleted my comment. Lol
An uncle of mine was operating aside American pilots and he managed to bomb the enemy lines and get back to Japan with one engine…
We always fought aside and it seems we will we always be 🇬🇷❤🇺🇸
I’m proud as Greek-American for both of my countries!!!
Wow! Thank your uncle for his service!! Thanks for sharing! 🇺🇸💙🇬🇷
Excellent video..Thank you. My grandpa fought in korean war and he make it back alive in some small village in central Greece. !!
Thanks for your support and thank your grandpa for his service!
Ζήτω η ελευθερία , Ζήτω ο Ε.Σ. Ζήτω η Ελλάς !
Respect!
"People Will Not Say Anymore That the Greeks Fight Like Heroes But Heroes Fight Like Greeks"
Winston Churchill 🙂
i am proud to be greek
mono afto emine , h perhfania
Respect!
Μολών λαβέ! "Come and get them"
🇬🇷💪
I had asked my Korean War veteran grandfather when he was alive why they cleaned the bayonet after the battle. There was too much hand-to-hand fighting. He replied that it was out of respect for the dead. He may have had a wife children brothers. The bloody bayonet was an advertisement of his death and was forbidden.
That does make sense. Thanks for sharing 👍
Whenever time calls, we shall go meet our ancestors with a huge smile...no space for second thoughts!
Respect!
As a Greek, thank you for highlighting the value of the Greek fighter!!! I am a proud descendant of Greek fighters of the Cretan revolutions against the Ottomans at the end of the 19th century, the Balkan Wars, the Asia Minor Campaign, WWII. My great-grandfather was captured by the Turks in 1922, managed to escape, walked hundreds of kilometers on foot until he reached the Aegean sea, after the front had collapsed and the Greek population of Smyrna was massacred. He was walking at night and as soon as he reached the sea he found a boat and crossed to Chios. He returned to Crete after he was already considered dead and commemorated as such. His son, my grandfather, fought the Italians and the Germans. Countless stories of heroism were told to me by those who knew him, while he himself never uttered a word. From others I learned of his exploits during the unfortunate civil war, where the Greek warriors distinguished themselves in unorthodox warfare in the mountains. These same fighters fought in Korea!!! The American soldier honored the Greek, I wish the American politician did too!!!
Well said! Thank you for your insights and thanks for watching! 🇬🇷💙❤️🇺🇸💪
Respect to your great grandfather. He must’ve had some amazing stories.!!
When Greeks arrived at "Harry"Outpost there were bodies all over the place and the stench was unbearable. They wordplay by renaming it to "Haros" or "Charos" which means the Angel of Death in Greek.
Thanks for your insight! I appreciate it.
Or simply Haros is Charon,the one who drove the boat with the souls of the dead to the underworld
You can never go wrong with a genuine Greek soldier by your side!
Well said 👍
As a veteran from the Hellenic Armed Forces and a veteran from the US Armed Forces I salute you my lady!
My salute and respect to you as well 🙂🇺🇸🇬🇷
I am so proud about my country the Greece 🇬🇷
Respect!
Awesome video and i agree the Greeks are really fearsome warriors they always been. if you go back in the Greek history, take a look at the Spartans no fear, no retreat and no surrender.
Exactly!! And thanks for watching and for your support 🙂
@@JustAnotherArmyVet You are most welcome
As a Greek i appreciate all these good words told by heroes and tough veterans of the US Army. I also remember the US soldiers and officers in our common NATO missions as the best colleagues and allies. Very friendly and helpful in any task and the greatest professionals in the entire world. I'd feel safer to fight next to them than any other army.
I never had the honor of working with the Greek soldiers on any missions. However, I’ve always heard good things about the Greek military from my buddies 🙂💙🇬🇷
My father told me about that story on the hill in Korea,he was a sergeant at the Hellenic army early 50s.
Respect to him !
τι έγινε εκεί στην Κορέα,μπορείς να μ δώσεις μερικές πληροφορίες.
When I was studying Electronics back in 1998, we had a very old professor in Physics. He was around 80 years old and he didn't want to become a pensioner. He had a very calm and steady voice. His books were all written by hand, in four languages: English, Greek, German and French, all mixed, so it was almost impοssible for us to read them!
There was a rumor that when he was young, he had killed someone, and to avoid being imprisoned for life, he enlisted as a volunteer in the Greek Army, in the Korean expedition. Other professors were saying that he was fearless in battle and had honored with medals. But you couldn't imagine him like that by seeing this short, peaceful old guy. Rest in peace dr. Moukas.
It sounds like he made an impression on you! Thanks for sharing. May he rest him peace! 🙏
Just awesome!!! Greek spirit, its like we know we will come back and we dont fear the reaper!!! So many stories about crazy Greek army.
Thank you for this!!! Just awesome!!!
My pleasure! Thanks for your support!
Peace guys from a Greek :)
Peace from South Carolinian! 🙂
Never forget the 300 Spartans at Thermopile against the huge Persian Army! Leonides led his men into this battle knowing it was death to the last man! Greeks are born heroes and they die as heroes! God bless my brothers! Never to be forgotten!
A heroic and legendary last stand! Respect and God bless them!
Something must be said about the Greeks.
Reading so much about them and their dynamism in wars, one would think that they are a warlike people.
Exactly the opposite.
The Greeks were a people ready for war, not a war-loving people, meaning that they were prepared for war but did not pursue it.
There are three types of war: Offensive, Civil and Defensive.
And the first two should be taught as examples to be avoided and the third to be imitated.
Aggressive wars of conquest are waged by the powerful,
who through war wishes to impose his power.
This power of his makes him arrogant and in the end he will be fatally destroyed.
Civil wars destroy the flower of youth on both sides of the same nation.
Defensive wars aim at the defense of the Motherland, its Values and Ideals,
it is the healthiest form of war and is a timeless example of imitation.
It was the ideals and values that the Greeks carried in their souls, that made them fight in a specific manner and temperament.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and insight!
I had a good laugh when you said that the Greek soldier didn't give a sh#t and just focused on kicking their @sses. That's the basic quality of the Greek soldier. They are born and trained just to kick @sses and defend their country no matter who's at the opposite side. They have thousands of years of war experience...so it's in their blood. They are born soldiers.
😂😂 Well said! Respect 🇬🇷💙🙂
Theese guys back then my grand father too were truly bad asses, ww2 veterans, Greek civil war veterans with almost a decade full of combats...
Ordinary men with exrodinary courage, fearless guys brutal warriors...
The only soldier in ww2 who return fire in German stucas with their rifles...!!!
That been said by Herman Gering...
Our heroes our grand fathers our reason that we are what we are today.
Thanks vet, you have our love.
Respect! Thanks for your support! Love from South Carolina!
No fear. No retreat. No surrender. That sums us Greeks in a nutshell. Great video.
Yes! Thank you! Well said
Greek here. The cleaning of the bayonets is for them not to rust but also shows respect to the blade itself. Kind of as you would treat your friend after the battle,clean em up and wipe the dirt off of them,it's the same exact thing. It is also I believe something g that runs in Greek blood,the bayonet that is,since ancient times. So essentially,treat your blade with respect,keep it clean and not rusty and take care of your "friend"
Makes sense! Thanks 👍
At 8:38 this wasnt to entice the Chinese. From antiquity us Greeks before battle have a feast because this could be our last.There is a story that a Persian spy during the Greco - Persian wars (antiquity) saw some Greek troops prior battle to bathe ,comb their hair and feast. The spy reported that to the king and the king asked a Greek who has defected to the kings court why they do that.The Greek reported that is a custom us Greeks have that if we die in battle we must look good in the Underworld (Hades). Pure baddassery right?
Awesome story!! I never heard that before
This was the night before the Battle of Thermopylae. When 300 Spartans fought 1 million Persians. If it weren’t for Ephialtes, the traitor, the Persians were ready to abandon and leave. The Spartans managed to defeat the Persian Elite, the Immortals, over and over again. Ephialtes showed the Persians a little path that lead them behind the Greek lines. That is how they won this battle. When Leonidas fell, all of the remaining soldiers made sure that their body would fall on top of him as they were being killed one after the other, with their shields covering them. In Sparta, when soldiers were going to war their mothers/wives would hand them their shield saying: either with it or on it. Meaning: you come back either holding it or dead, laying on it. That is why Greeks never retreat.
@@anastasiapapageorgiou5852 respect to them!
Those Greek soldiers were all veterans of many years of battle. Fought in WW2 , many of them were members of the resistance , and also fought in the Greek civil war. Greeks who went to Korea were all volunteers and crack troops, they were also very experienced in mountain warfare. They were also very experienced woth using american weapons , they had used them in the Greek civil war. Americans troops were mostly Green in Korea. What you see in the video is the diffrence between battle hardened veterans and basically new conscripts. I am sure those USA boys fought much better in the battles that followed. Like the Germans said in WW2 afterall , the biggest advantage of the American army was its capability to learn fast and adapt to any situation extremely fast
Ahh yes, very true. Well said. Thank you!
That's not true, I had an uncle that went there, voluntarily
@@aokiaoki4238 thats what I said. You propably did not read my comment carefuly. All Greeks that went to Korea were volunteers. Best of the best. And the officers were all English speakers , it was a requirement to get chosen as an officer so that the unit could cooperate with the american units without language barriers. That unit that went to Korea was one of the best Greek army units ever assembled in modern Greek history. All elite veterans , some of multiple wars. Also they were all extremely experienced in moutain warfare , Greek civil war was all mountain battles and pretty brutal one and full of hate , you know these type of civil engaments are the toughest. That unit we send there was the perfect unit for the warfare in Korea. You can google another epic battle they had for the Hill 420 if I remeber correctly.
@@vonzuchter but not all were veterans, definitely not best of the best
@@aokiaoki4238 almost all were professional soldiers , veterans of the civil war and ww2. Very few conscripts if any. I will have to check my sources again but I remember they all volunteered thats certain
the Greeks, when they killed someone with a bayonet, wiped the blood, because they considered it a matter of honor not to kill the next person with a "bayonet stained" with another's blood
Thanks for your insight!
this is the reality. it is the most correct and true explanation.
Ahhh, The Greeks aka Hellenes!
Winston Churchill: the Hellenes do not fight like heroes! Heroes fight like the Hellenes!
And the Hellenic history has incalculable examples of bravery and sacrifice, for the last 4 millennia…
Respect!
I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS. I WILL TELL YOU THE SECRET WHY WE GREEKS FIGHT SO CRAZY GREECE IS OUR MOTHER AND THERE IS NOT A GREEK WHO WOULD NOT DEFEND HIS MOTHER. WE DON'T DEFEND OUR COUNTRY WE DEFEND OUR MOTHER!!!
You are so sweet! Thanks! Respect!!
The cleaning of the bayonets is a sign of respect for the soldier that fallen from it .The time spending cleaning the bayonet from another soldier's blood is a time to honour him that he fell bravely under it. Much love and respect from Greece
Thanks! Love and respect from South Carolina 🌴🙏💙
Posthumous fame. (Υστεροφημία Greek )
The ultimate purpose of life of the ancient Greeks . I think our grant fathers who fought in Korea they achieved their goal.
Their exploits will be recounted from generation to generation but also through TH-cam all over the world.
I am proud to be Greek🇬🇷
Respect!
Praise greeks because they got BIG heart, ofcourse not everyone is perfect but i live here in Greece many years and thats something i respect the most but love the weather and food :D
They seem like good people living in a beautiful land 🙂🇬🇷
I WAS 1 YEAR OLD WHEN MY PARENTS BROUGHT ME TO GERMANY I LIVED IN GERMANY FOR 42 YEARS BUT WHEN I TURNED 18 YEARS OLD I JOINED THE GREEK ARMY. MY PARENTS WERE GREEK AND I WILL DIE A GREEK!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was stationed in Germany for six years. My respect to Germans and to Greeks!!
My dear, throughout our long long history, we Greeks were fighting in our ancestral years with swords and shields, one practically side by side with your best friend, even in the copper age, or the first iron age, so after the fight we had to clean our swords of the blood because it would rust. That's why our army officers always in the most recent years gave orders to clean our bayonets, to honour all the men that fell unlucky facing our army. It's all about tradition, my dear. I salute you all!
Thank you so much for sharing !!! And thanks for your support!! 🇬🇷🤗💙
Don't mention it, my dear friend.
@@georgek.papafilippou2583 🤗
Should be kept in mind, that Greeks were the only Europeans that kept on fighting after WWII, during the Greek Civil War, By the time they went to Korea, most of them had over a decade of continuous combat experience in commando-level conditions of altitude and weather. they were the ideal troops for Korean warfare.
Very battle hardened!! Respect to them!
My father never spoke of his time in Korea only he was a radio operator. After his death in 2019 i found a photo album of his time in Korea. He was at Outpost Harry 1952, 53. My father is actuall shown in the documentry "Hold at all cost". he appears as the fist man shown at the end wearing the white scarf.
Sgt first class William F Rahner
Thank you so much for sharing and my respect for your father and all of his buddies. That must have a been an emotional find (the photo album). 🙏💙
My grandpa had also volunteered to the Korean War. Got Shot once but tankfully came back in one piece! I remember me an all my cousins gathering at his place and waiting eagerly to hear his stories from the war instead of bedtime stories. So all of us serviced either on the special forces or in the armoured tank unit at the Borderline...in his memory! Thank you for your video! Brought back many memories!
My respects and thanks to your grandfather and your family service! 🇬🇷💙🤗
The truth is according to history facts and from the interviews from those Greeks veterans is that the US army had a huge losses for harry post and the last solution was to send the Greeks to the death sentence they didnt care much about them for the them was the scrape goat.but those Greeks prove theme wrong and came back alive.another facts is the one of the major errors that the usa army done is the altilery shoot the greek and at least one die under those friendly fires.the reality is that the usa had no business there or any where in this time i think you can agree that all it happens about natural resources and keep the war machine alive.
That was a very sad 😢🇬🇷💙🇺🇸. Friendly fire is never good
As a Greek, I want to thank you for this video and for your nice words about us. One detail I would like to add, is that all the Greeks that served in Korea were volunteers. Thank you once again.
Thanks for sharing! And thanks for your support as well 🙂🇬🇷💙
Yes, all of them. Every family from my village Ammos, Messinias, had a son that volunteered to go and fight over to Korea. When my grand-uncle returned, he never said anything about what happened, except two times. The first when he spoke to my uncles before they went to fight at Cyprus, and the second and final time, 5 years before his death, were he gathered all his grand-nephews and told us, in detail. We all felt that he was passing the mantle to us, to stand when and where is need, to face death with a smile and rejoice that when the inevitable comes will be greeted by our forefathers in song and glory. (it was when we had the Imia incident, and thought that we might go to war with Turkey). No Greek loves war, but every Greek, man or woman, will here the call!
@@dacheese13 I’m glad that you got to hear what he had to say
@@dacheese13 what a great story!
Thank you for your service and the kind words greetings from ellada! Every single Greek man is a soldier by blood. No fear no retreat no surrender. We’re ready to die with a smile on our faces. We will be er lose our motherland again. 400 years of slavery taught us to endure and fight until we gain our freedom. No battle is to hard no mountain is to high and no enemy too strong. Sadly we are poor and our leaders are corrupt and the people are divided but as soon as we are attacked every single one of us stands together and fight until death. We’re ready to die with our pride and honour intact. Im looking forward to serve my country as soon as I’m done with university, just like every single ancestor of mine. Ελευθερία η θάνατος. 🇬🇷
Greetings and respect from South Carolina! Thanks for your kind words!! 🤗❤️🙏🇬🇷
@@JustAnotherArmyVet Translation of the Greek at the end of the post. 'Freedom or death."
@@georgesakellaropoulos8162 thank you for taking your time to translate that 🙂👍🇬🇷
@JustAnotherArmyVet Greek is not my first language, but I know enough for the basics lol.
@@georgesakellaropoulos8162 well, you know more than me 😄
As a Greek i have to say thank you for your words and for this Video ❤
You're so welcome! Thanks for watching!
I'm from Greece and my grandfather was at the Korean war. Today is 96 years old and he is pretty much in good condition.. I know a lot of war stories from him and for me is a mystery why he is always wanted to tell them to me when he never wants to talk to anybody else!!!
Cherish those stories, and pass those along to your children and grandchildren. And thank him for his service!
You love us, the Greeks. If you ever visit Greece you are more than welcome to my home you and your family. Thank you.
Awe you are so sweet. Thank you 🙏💙
@@JustAnotherArmyVet And I thank you for your service ma’am
🤗💙🙏