From World War I to flights in modern jet fighters, they were all there. A volunteer effort by Greek researchers reveals unique stories of courage, heroism, sacrifice, and dedication to the aviation ideal, which searches the four corners of the globe for Greek pilots who have written their own chapter in the history of the global aviation community.
«It all started with my love for aviation and my studies in the field, through which I discovered many Greek names in the foreign literature. That’s more or less how the entire »Greeks in Foreign Cockpits« project began. We’ve been researching all these stories for over 21 years now through a particularly dynamic research effort,» said “Praktoreio 104.9FM,” said Mr. Dimitris Vasilopoulos, head of the project and creator of the website www.greeks-in-foreign-cockpits.com and its social media pages.
«We’re not professional researchers; we don’t make a living from this endeavor, but perhaps that’s precisely why something so good has come of it—we do it with love and passion…» says Mr. Vasilopoulos. Together with his colleagues Kyriakos Paloulias and Giorgos Chalkiadopoulos, Mr.Vasilopoulos explains that their team has created an archive that now includes hundreds of Greeks who have served as pilots in foreign air forces’ fighter jets.
«Nowadays, information is coming from everywhere. We’ve reached the point where we don’t know who to write about first, who to mention on the website, and who to include in the books we’re preparing,» admits the Greek researcher, who explains that the project presents many challenges. «We’ve had to, and still have to, for example, communicate with archives in other countries, such as the U.S. We’ve worked with archives held by relatives and with the national archives of Britain, Australia, and Canada. We often paid a researcher to search these archives, and to keep costs down, we did many things—such as page layout—ourselves,» he explains.
He notes that there have been pilots of Greek descent in every war. «From World War I through the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the ’Gulf War.“ We’ve been in touch with many of the most recent ones, and quite a few are already featured on our website,” notes Mr. Vasilopoulos, as the research team periodically works to document the stories of these remarkable pilots in print.
Where do pilots of Greek descent come from?
In fact, the United States—where the Greek diaspora is enormous—has had the most pilots of Greek descent in all previous decades. Next in line are the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada. But to what extent do these flying aces “feel” Greek?;
«What has impressed me the most is how proud these pilots were of their Greek heritage. Were they… Greeks? But they felt more Greek than even we do…!» replies Mr. Vasilopoulos. «They may have flown, for example, with the U.S. Air Force, but deep down they had a very strong sense of Greek identity. In fact, many of them drew either pictures or wrote words that signified their Greek heritage,» he notes. «Spyros Karavidas had a tsolias on his plane shouting “Aera,” the American Diamond Mitchell wrote “The Flying Greek” on his plane—there are many examples…,» he adds.
After 21 years of work, extensive entries have been written in the books about 25 to 30 pilots, and research has been conducted on another 50 for the purposes of the website, albeit to a lesser extent, and basic information has been recorded for at least 700 more individuals. «Every three to four years, we also publish a large book containing bibliographies, drawings, and tables. To date, we have focused mainly on the period of World War II,» explains the researcher.
The emotion and pride of the loved ones
«Most relatives are deeply moved when they learn that we are writing to them from Greece. This is especially true for those who fought in World War II. It’s incredible how strongly they maintain their Greek national identity alongside their American one,» explains Mr. Vasilopoulos, who also describes moments that have remained etched in his memory. «We experienced many moving moments. I especially remember Robert Vrilakas, a U.S. Air Force pilot who was originally from Crete, and who encouraged me to continue my research and not to get discouraged if I encountered obstacles. In fact, since he was flying out of North Africa and Italy, he also flew on a mission over Athens and told me how moved he was to see Greece from above…,» the Greek researcher describes.
Was it everyone’s dream to fly over their country of origin? «Many of them flew through the Greek skies, especially those who had flown from Africa and Italy. Some, like Frank Zavakos, requested to be transferred to Greek squadrons, and one of them succeeded. We’re preparing a tribute to him on our website,» he replies.
As for the aviation … bug, it seems that flying often ran in the Greek blood. «We had a case where the father flew in Vietnam and the son later flew in Afghanistan with the U.S. Navy…another instance where the father was a bombardier on a bomber during World War II and the son was a gunner on a helicopter in Vietnam, as well as many other similar cases… something very moving…» replies Mr. Vasilopoulos.
Among the countless Greek-born pilots who made their own mark in aerial combat, researchers have singled out four heroic…aces.
Four Stories of Heroes
Ο Harry Coronios: He was from Klada, a village near Sparta. He served as a P-47D pilot in the 56th FG, and his crew had nicknamed his aircraft “The Greek.” On October 8, 1943, during a mission to escort bombers, he shot down an FW-190 and damaged another. He was killed on November 17, 1943, during a training flight due to icing on the control surfaces.
Ο John Lolos: He was from Lagadia, in the prefecture of Arcadia. He served in the 348th FG, flying a P-47D. During training, he had an accident with the P-47C 41-6083 when he landed it without lowering the landing gear. Harry Coronios had also been involved in an accident with the same aircraft a month earlier at another airfield. Lolos fought on the Southwest Pacific front and earned the title of ace by scoring five aerial victories.
Ο Spiros Karavedas: He was originally from Varvasaina in the Prefecture of Elis. He served in the 58th Fighter Group, flying a P-47D which he had named “The Greek Guerrilla” (ed. «The Greek Guerrilla») and which depicted a Greek Evzone shouting «Aera.» Karavidas fought on the Southwestern Pacific front, carrying out countless strafing and bombing missions against Japanese ground targets.
Ο John Agorastos Plagis: He was born on March 10, 1919, in Hartley, Southern Rhodesia, and was the son of Greek immigrants. His father and mother were originally from the villages of Kontias and Platy on the island of Lemnos, respectively. During World War II, he enlisted in the RAF, trained as a Spitfire pilot, and took part in fierce dogfights over Malta and later over mainland Europe. He scored 17 aerial victories against German and Italian aircraft.
Sotiris Kyriakidis and Anastasia Karipidou
*The photographs were provided to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA) by Mr. Demetrios Vasilopoulos
