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OXI Day 2004
Speech by Nicholas
Stamos
October 24, 2004
Presented at the Statute of Demitrios Ypsilanti in Ypsilanti, Michigan on
the Occasion of the celebration of OXI day 2004. By Nicholas S. Stamos.
Dear Father John Paul, Fellow Parishioners of St. Nicholas, Members of the
AHEPA
and Daughters of Penelope, Guests, and friends. Greetings!
Many will ask why we are here today The answer is a simple 3 letter word OXI
(NO).
To the Greek People, this word stirs a passion and pride of a people who
resisted, and hurled back the Italian Army’s overwhelming numbers and had it
not been for the brutal attacks of the Nazis, the Italians would never had
set foot in Greece.
Another side of the word OXI, is COURAGE, and the reason we are here today
is to honor COURAGE.
Courage is defined in Webster’s dictionary as “that quality of mind which
enables men to encounter danger and difficulties with firmness or without
fear or depression of spirits” bravery is its synonym.
Throughout history; man has left us a legendary examples of courage, which I
humbly present to you.
At the Battle of Thermopylae, 300 Spartans defended the pass against 4000
Persians. Although, the Spartans were betrayed by a traitor, and Xerxes had
forced the pass, the victory was temporary. The bravery of the defenders
became a legend and inspired the Greeks to further Victories and the
eventual expulsion of the Persians.
“Tell them in Lakedaimon, passer-by that here obedient to their word we lie”
This was quoted from various Sources
The signers of our own Declaration of Independence, by signing the document
, put their lives and property into jeopardy and faced the death penalty for
treason to the King.
Patrick Henry’s inspiring cry for Liberty of “Give Me Liberty or give me
Death” , inspired his countrymen.
At the Battle of Gettysburg , at the Crest of Little Round Top, which was
the flank of the entire Union Army at Gettysburg, Captain of the 20th Maine
, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, was ordered to hold to the last. After
numerous Confederate charges, the 20th had run out of ammunition, and as the
final assault began, he was quoted to say “we can’t run and we can’t shoot,
so FIX BAYONETS. This battered Regiment chased away 2 full regiments, who
believing them to be Reinforcements. For his day there, Captain Chamberlain
was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
On December 22, 1944, during the Ardennes offensive of WWII, known as Battle
of the Bulge, the 101st Division was encircled by the Germans and faced
extermination. A message was sent by the Germans to Brig. Gen Anthony
McAuliffe to surrender or die. His response was a simple word ,’’NUTS’’. The
Americans, with great sacrifice, held on to the vitally strategic position
and earned the title “The Battered Bastards of Bastogne”.
These were only a few examples of man’s courage throughout history .Now we
are here today and standing in front of the statue of Demitrios Ypsilanti,
the Hero of the Greek Revolution of 1821 against the Ottomann Turks to
commemorate another DAY of COURAGE, known to us of Greek Heritage as OXI
(no) DAY.
October 28, 1940 marks the day that Greece officially entered WWII. It is
the day remembered for General Ionnia Metaxa’s simple, unequivocally direct
rebuff to Mussolini’s Ultimatum to allow Italian Troops to come into Greece.
That reply was OXI (NO)
Cypriot countrymen also drew inspiration from Greece’s refusal to let
Italian Troops enter.
As Greek-Americans, we are proud to recognize this courage of Oct 28th, but
even more than an expression of pride, it is a remembrance, to publicly
announce that Freedom is not free but paid for by the sacrifices of
courageous men and women, and that a firm OXI (no) to tyranny anywhere ,IS
is an act of COURAGE.
George William Curtis 1824-1892 wrote in his CALL TO FREEDOM . ”Every great
crises of human history is a pass of Thermopylae , and there is always a
Leonidas and his 300 to die for it, If they cannot conquer.
In the course of time, although the Germans occupied Greece, the OXI of
October 28, 1940, caused the German Forces to redeploy troops from the
Eastern Front, which in turn was a great value to the Allies War Effort. It
bought time to eventually defeat the evil force of Nazis.
In a proclamation to the Greek People on October 28, 1940 by Ioannis Metaxas
, the following quote of his final paragraph is as follows:
‘It is now for us to show whether we are indeed worthy of our ancestors and
of the freedom won for us by our forefathers. Let the Nation rise as one
man. Fight for your Country, your wives, your children, and our sacred
traditions.'
The struggle for all has begun. Nυν υπερ παντων ο αγων!
May their Memory be eternal, May their Memory be eternal, May their Memory
be eternal
Sincerely, Nicholas S. Stamos
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