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	"Defenders of Freedom" by Erin Clossey First appeared in the Watertown TAB & Press

Defenders of Freedom Remembered

Residents honored generations of men and women who served in the armed forces last week with volleys of fire, bagpipes, stones and plaques.

On Sunday morning, hundreds of past and present parishioners of the Greek Orthodox Church gathered after the regular service to dedicate memorials to members of the parish who served in wars dating back to World War I. Inside the church hall, a plaque bearing the names of nearly 300 parishioners was unveiled by members of the George K. Menichios American Legion Post 324, a Greek-American post based in Arlington. Town Council President Clyde Younger read a proclamation. Outside, bagpipers played and parishioners dedicated a stone monument bearing a cross and the names of six parishioners killed in action.

One of the men whose name was engraved on the stone, Michael Pappas was killed in World War II, and his body was never sent home, said Diana Proctor, who spearheaded the memorials. When his two sisters dedicated the plaque, the crowd filled with emotion, because the women finally had closure, said Proctor.

They never had a grave to go to and say, our brother is here," she said.

Proctor said she had wanted to create memorials at the church for a few years.

I thought it was a good thing to do...with everything that's going on and the situation we're facing now," Proctor said, referring to the nation's impending war with Iraq.

The following morning, at Amvets Post 41 on Grove Street, Commander Elliot Venetzian hosted his post's first Veterans Day ceremony. He was approached about hosting it about nine months ago, and "just relished the thought," he said.

With the help of Watertown Veterans' agent Bob Erickson, who assisted Proctor and a committee of church members with the Greek Orthodox ceremony, along with VFW Post 1105 Commander Joe Caouette and Marine Corps League, Shutt Detachment Commandant Bernard Becker, Venetzian drew in a crowd of about 60.

A volley of fire provided shell casings for excited members of Boy Scout Pack 271, and a bit of comic relief, when the blasts from the weapons set off a nearby car alarm, Venetzian.

Veterans and town officials offered reflections on the meaning of freedom and veterans' issues. Caouette spoke about homeless veterans, and Becker, about the Shutt Detachment. Watertown Police Detective Michael Munger, and his own experiences last year working with a United Nations force in Kosovo. Kay Garvin, who served in the Coast Guard during World War II, spoke about women veterans.

Also sharing their thoughts on the day were Post 41 member Bob Kaprielian, state Rep. Rachel Kaprielian, Town Councilor Sal Ciccarelli and Veterans' Agent Erickson.

Venetzian said his own words that day were inspired by news accounts of a liberal academic in Tehran who was arrested and sentences to death for speaking out against Islamic rule in Iran.

'Look at how damn lucky we are, for crying out loud,' Venetzian said. "That's what we fought about."

In front of the podium, on a table draped with a Missing in Action/Prisoner of War flag, was formal dinner place setting. The arrangement stays up all the time, Venetzian said, to remind members and guests of the men and women who still haven't come home.

"We're sort of hoping someone will show up," he said.

	First appeared in the Watertown TAB & Press on Friday June 20, 2003

Paying Tribute

Eleftherios "Lefty" Lavrakis got everything but the parade when he returned to his native Watertown this week for his 65th high school reunion.

The 84-year-old retired Navy captain and college professor was feted with a luncheaon at the Hellenic cultural Center last Monday, where fiends and admirers spoke of his accomplishments, and Town Council President Clyde younger presented him with a proclamation from the Town Council. (Governor's Councilor Marilyn Petitto Devaney, unable to attend, had planned to give him a proclamation from that office as well.)

"I try to stay away from the word 'humble,' but this is overwhelming," Lavrakis said of the accolades.

Lavrakis is a legend in Watertown, according to the speakers. A star catcher for the Watertown High baseball team, he graduated in 1938, and went to work for Hood Rubber Company. His high school coach helped him into Wilbraham Academy, and from there, he went to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Ms.

He was commissioned as an ensign in 1942, and served aboard the U.S.S. Aaron Ward, a stint that earned him the Bronze Star after the ship was nearly sunk by a kamikaze attack in 1945. He went on to serve through two more wars, served as a military attache in The Hauge, Netherlands (where he did his part to cultivate baseball among the Dutch), and finally retired from the Navy as a captain in 1970. Rather than take up golf and birdwatching, however, he went back to graduate school, earned a doctorate in education, and spent many more years teaching college courses.

Lavrakis may be one of the Watertown Greek Community's more dynamic native sons, but Diana Proctor wants to be sure he's not the only Greek-American to be recognized for their service to the United States.

Proctor, a lifelong Watertown resident, is leading a movement to get every Greek Orthodox church in the United States, all 600-plus of them, to recognize their members' military service.

In the coming months, Proctor said, the Taxiarchae's Web site will also be home to a page explaining how to go about raising awareness, money and volunteers to erect plaques, memorials and other ways to salute servicemen and women.

It's about time someone did, according to Proctor.

"I've been thinking about this [project] for a long time. The Greeks never do very much to promote themselves," Proctor said.

The project statrted when Proctor and a group of church members, with the help of Watertown Veteran's Agent Bob Erickson, embarked on a mission to erect a plaque honoring Watertown Greek-Americans who served their country. They solicited for names in the church newsletter, and held fund-raisers, and when they were done, they had a bronze plaque for inside the church hall containing 286 names, a stone monument to six men killed in action which rests outside on Bigelow Avenue, and enough money to cover the costs.

"I was really amazed at the response we got," said Proctor.

Proctor decided this was something every Greek Orthodox community should be doing, and embarked on the Web site which she guesses should be up in two months. The idea is to compile a database of names and information from across the country, which will be managed from Hellenic College in Brookline. She said there is also a "yearbook" of Watertown Greek-American servicemen in the works, complete with photos and biographical information, which should be ready for next Veterans Day. And when she's through making sure Greek_American veterans get the recognition they deserve, she said she just may move onto Greek-Americans who have helped build this country in other ways.

George Masteralexis was one Watertown resident who was at the unveiling of the plaque last Veterans Day. The ceremony gave him "goose pimples," said the Army veteran. Masteralexis served as an Army administrator in Charlotte, N.C., from 1956 to 1958, and also did so translating for the sizable Greek population down there.

"You can look at it and say, "I was part of this country. I was part of Uncle Sam," he said.

	First appeared in the Hellenic Voice November 2002

Watertown Community Honors its Veterans

The Greek Orthodox community gathered November 10 to pay homage to past and present members who have served in the Armed Forces of the United States and to pay special tribute to the six parishioners who made the ultimate sacrifice.

The honors began with a memorial service upon conclusion of the liturgical service. This was followed by a procession complete with bagpiper, which included Metropolitan Methodios, Fr. Emmanuel Metaxas, Fr. Theodore J. Barbas, several veterans contingents and local dignitaries, to the place of honor on the grounds of the Taxiarchae Church.

With the pomp and circumstance accorded such occasions and where Providence graced the proceedings with a spell of Indian summer, a Vermont granite monument inscribed with the names of six men killed in action was unveiled by Julia Welch and Florence Poe, sisters of Michael C. Pappas, who was killed in action during World War II. Two flagpoles donated by the families of Charles A. Pappas and Anna and Sofokles Prenare, were then dedicated as protocol demanded, Old Glory was hoisted first followed by the Greek standard. The proceedings then adjourned to the Taxiarchae Community Center where members of the George K. Menichios American Legion Post 324 participated in the unveiling and dedication of the plaque inscribed with the names of known veterans.

At the conclusion of the ceremonies a reception was held in the patriotically festooned center where old friendships were renewed and memories refreshed. And thanks to the veterans' photographs that were skillfully displayed, the process was made a little easier and that much more enjoyable.

It was thanks to the vision and determined efforts of life-long Watertown resident Diana Angel Proctor, that the recognition of these veterans became a reality. Proctor was aided in her labors by Watertown Veterans' Agent Robert Erickson and by a committee of dedicated volunteers, chief among who are Alison Angel and Parish Council President Nicholas E. Avtges. Other committee members are Fr. Theodore J. Barbas, Fr. Emmanuel S. Metaxas, Stella Alexander, Christy Christopher, Michael Gregory, Ester Materalexis, John Vlachos, Julia Welch, Homer Ypsilantis and Demos Zevitas. The subcommitte members are: Nicholas Alexander, Anne Marie Allison, Emily Brigugilo, Anastasia Caras, George Kotsifas, George Masteralexis, Christine Miller, Evangeline Miller, Irene Morris, Paula O'Rourke, Nicholas Samaras, Alyce Savas, Mickey Avtges Taleas, Hope Tsacoyeanes and Mary Zevitas.

The veterans project was generously supported through the financial contributions of past and current members of the Archangels, with Byron F. Angel, Jr. a principal benefactor.

In conclusion, it should be noted that Post 324 was not a participant in the events with Commander Robert Coggin giving the keynote address at the reception and Adjutant Homer Ypislantis speaking at the memorial service, but that Post 324 was also a generous benefactor and avid supporter of Proctor's noble endeavors.

News Through Photos

Photo Essay first appeared in the Hellenic Voice Wednesday December 25, 2002