Grigorios “Grigoris” Pavlakis

In memoriam

Greek: Γρηγόριος Παυλάκης Retired Admiral Grigoris Pavlakis passed away on Sunday 22nd January 2017 at the age of 95. He was the last Greek officer survivor of the Battle of Normandy, the allied operation against German-occupied Western Europe during World War II, where he served as second-in-command on the corvette Kriezis. The operation was launched on 6th June 1944 with the Normandy landings commonly known as D-Day. Although under German occupation, Greece could not but participate in the biggest day of the war against the forces of the Axis. The Royal Hellenic Navy joined with corvettes "KRIEZIS" and "TOMBAZIS", and destroyer "Salamis". Also several merchant vessels took part although no specific data available. The Greek warships fought together with the British Navy. The crew consisted of Navy officers and reservists from the merchant Navy. They escorting Allied convoys in the Mediterranean Sea or the Atlantic Ocean. During the historic Normandy landings, the corvettes Kriezis and Tombazis sailed from the port of Portsmouth where they had docked after having performed escort missions in the Atlantic. In a rare interview, Admiral Grigoris Pavlakis spoke to state broadcaster NET in 2013 about D-Day and the Greek participation. Pavlakis said that there were a total of 150 men on board the corvettes Kriezis and Tombazis that were assigned to transport a British-Canadian division. "Our corvettes were on the first wave of operation," he said. He remembered the dawn of June 6th, the moment they heard the voice of Winston Churchill announcing through the ship's megaphones the start of the operation. "We threw our hats in the air and shouted Hurray! Hurray!" he said. At the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Normandy, Adm. Pavlakis was the only Greek officer to attend the celebrations. He received the title of Knight of Honour (Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur) by then French President Jacques Chirac. In the same year, he was also honoured by the Greek Republic. He was born on the island of Patmos in 1921; his family was from the island of Crete. During his distinguished career, Admiral Grigoris Pavlakis received 15 medals and honours. His funeral took place with full military honours on Wednesday, 25th January, at 2 p.m., at Athens First Cemetery.

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