He promised his child that he would be near him on the day of his celebration and going through fire and iron, through the battle of Sarandaporos, he fulfilled his promise and arrived victorious in Thessaloniki on October 26, 1912. She was day of the liberation of the city. More than a century later, the collector and antiques dealer Yiannis Vavatsis, reveals the moving letter of the Ensign Regiment that was written after the entry of the Greek Army into Serbia, on October 10, 1912. The recipient is the family of the Ensign in Thessaloniki and especially his eldest son, who, as it appears from the context of the text, is called Dimitris. And this is because the father in the letter wishes to be in Thessaloniki on his name day, as it happened, as on October 26, 1912, the Greek Army entered the city.
“My child!…I am writing to you in a hurry from Serbia. After the battle in Elassona, we faced the terrible Sarantaporos. On the ninth of October, in the morning, we entered the fire. We fought with the song on our lips, as if it were a festival. Much blood was spilled until the evening. The next day, at dawn, the Turks had disappeared from the dreaded Straits. everywhere victory and enthusiasm for freedom. May God allow me to be in Thessaloniki at your celebration, my child," reads the letter. In his letter, the father also encloses a special memento for his son from the war. “And now, listen to me. I am sending you a package. Here you spring it with reverence, because it is a sacred heirloom for you and for all of us. At the battle of Sarandaporos, as I was advancing with the flag of the Constitution, through the smoke, a shell exploded beyond. And a piece of it passed over my head without touching me. But he cut off this heirloom and raged upon my breast. I am sending it to you to keep. Kiss your mom, Riga and Giannaki. Your father”…
Saving the yellowed letter
This historic document is in the hands of the antique dealer-collector in Thessaloniki, Yiannis Vavatsis, who, answering a question about how he came into his possession, disarmingly states that "whoever searches, finds".
"Because I am interested in history of my place and more, I managed to find the letter and it is very important to me. First of all, from her writing it seems that the sender was a cultured, educated person. He was a volunteer during the Balkan wars, he left his family in Thessaloniki with the three children and preferred to fight for Greece. He mentions many details and what moves me particularly is that he sends his child a piece of shell and tells him:"keep it, it is sacred", Mr. Vavatsis emphasizes to APE-MPE.
The collector has only the letter in his possession, without the envelope and without any signature or name. This is how he addressed himself, as he states, to the Ministry of National Defense, under the ministry of Panos Kammenos, in order to be able to find the sender. "I am still waiting for an answer and I wonder, how many were flag bearers in Thessaloniki at that time? That is, educated people who left their homes and their families to go and fight for Greece? I expect an answer not only for this document, I have other, infinite, historical documents for which I could not find help from a state body", notes Mr. Vavatsis, clarifying that all he wants is to know the name and last name of the sender in order to "honor the hero".
Mr. Vavatsis's collection of historical documents from that period (beginning of the 19th century) also includes the registration ID for the Macedonian Fighters Association of the teacher Dimitris Ypsilantis, from "Matsikovon", as mentioned and it is the village of Evzoni in the municipality of Paonia . The date of registration with the Association is 1928 with "Agent" listed as the grade of registration! At the same time, the collector has many documents from the Aristotle University, where the participation of parents or students in the war was verified in order to receive exemptions or transfers. "I don't care if a document is rare, I only care if it has something to do with the history of my country, I get sick when I see lost and thrown away documents like this. We must save what we can find from the history of our country", concludes Mr. Vavatsis.
APE-ME