Newsletter  44

June 2005

Mark your Calendar

The general program of Prometheas with planned activities for the next 12 months has been recently reviewed by the Board. The following events, scheduled for September and early October of 2005, have been substantially firmed up and are presented below:. 

1. Lecture: “ Linking Greek Culture and Environment to Human Health in Greece”.

Speaker: Eugene G. Maurakis, Ph. D. Associate Professor, University of Richmond. Friday, September 9, 2005, St. George Greek Orthodox Church.

2. Kafeneio: The traditional Prometheas’ Kafeneio. Friday, September 30, 2005.

      St. Katherine’s Greek Orthodox Church.

3. Elections of Prometheas Board: Elections and presentation of Prometheas’ future program of activities. Thursday, October 13, 2005. St. George Greek Orthodox. Church.

For final confirmation, please look for related announcements to be circulated prior to the date of each event.

Misc. News

Rigas Kappatos’ impressions from Latin America

Mr. Rigas Kappatos, writer, poet and member of Prometheas, visited in April and early May three Latin American Countries on the occasion of the publication of his book “The Presence of Greece in the Poetry of Latin America”.  As you may recall, Prometheas sponsored a lecture on this book in November, 2003. Rigas’ observations from this trip are recorded in six short articles he wrote.  Attached are the first four of these articles.

Athens News Agency / May 12, 2005

Athens Olympics organizers end with surplus of 7.0 million euros

Athens 2004 SA, which organized the Athens Olympics last year, said today that it has ended with a surplus of 7.0 million euros.

Originally, the surplus totaled 130.6 million euros, but 123.6 million euros were removed to pay for projects undertaken on behalf of the government, bringing a final surplus of 7,021,116 euros, the company said in a statement.

Revenue was 2.098 billion euros, with 27.6% of the total from television rights, 25.6% from international and national sponsors, 13.5% from government funding, 9.2% from ticket sales, 5.7% from marketing sales and other revenue sources. Expenses totaled 1.967 billion euros.

Aiding coffers was the company's foreign exchange risk management operation, under which revenue in dollars was converted into euros before the US currency's slide against the euro in 2002-2004.

ΑΛΛΟ ΕΝΑ ΕΛΛΗΝΟΑΜΕΡΙΚΑΝΙΚΟ CHARTER ΣΧΟΛΕΙΟ ΣΤΙΣ ΗΠΑ

Ουάσιγκτον, 27 Μαϊου 2005 (11:45 UTC+2)

Τη δημιουργία Ελληνο-Αμερικανικού Charter σχολείου με την επωνυμία «Οδύσσεια», ενέκρινε ομόφωνα το Δ.Σ. της Σχολικής Περιφέρειας του Red Clay στην πολιτεία του Delaware. Το charter σχολείο, το οποίο αναμένεται να ξεκινήσει τη λειτουργία του, τον Σεπτέμβριο του 2006 με την επιχορήγηση του δημοσίου, θα προσφέρει μία καινοτόμο προσέγγιση στη δημοτική εκπαίδευση με τη διδασκαλία της ελληνικής ως δεύτερης γλώσσας και με ιδιαίτερη έμφαση στη διδασκαλία των μαθηματικών.

«Ο συνδυασμός της διδασκαλίας ανάγνωσης και γραφής μίας ξένης γλώσσας και η επανεξέταση του μαθήματος των μαθηματικών στη δεύτερη γλώσσα, συμβάλλουν στην καλλιέργεια των επιδεξιοτήτων των μαθητών και της βαθύτερης κατανοήσεως της διδακτέας ύλης», εξηγεί ο Πρόεδρος του Δ.Σ. της «Οδύσσειας» κ. George Chambers. «Στο σχολείο οι μαθητές θα διδάσκονται και θα μαθαίνουν στην ελληνική γλώσσα, με ιδιαίτερη έμφαση στις διαχρονικές ρίζες και τα θεμέλια της αγγλικής γλώσσας, της γλωσσικής έκφρασης, των μαθηματικών και επιστημών».

Σε συνεννόηση με την Ελληνική Πρεσβεία θα αποσταλούν από την Ελλάδα έμπειροι δάσκαλοι δημοτικής εκπαίδευσης για να διδάξουν και να μυήσουν τους μαθητές μας στην ελληνική γλώσσα και στον ελληνικό πολιτισμό, μία εμπειρία που όπως λέει ο κ. Chambers θα είναι παρόμοια με το να παρακολουθούσαν ένα σχολείο σε άλλη χώρα.

Από την πλευρά του ο επιτηρητής της Σχολικής Περιφέρειας του Red Clay School Dr. Robert Andrzejewski εκφράζει τη χαρά του από το γεγονός ότι θα λειτουργήσει «αυτό το μοναδικό σχολείο» με την πεποίθηση ότι «θα επαναπροσδιορίσει τις προσδοκίες από τα δημόσια σχολεία της πολιτείας». Το Διοικητικό Συμβούλιο του σχολείου θα συνέλθει τον ερχόμενο Αύγουστο προκειμένου να εξετάσει το θέμα της στέγασής του σε κεντρικό σημείο στη σχολική περιφέρεια του Red Clay και τις σχετικές οικονομικές απαιτήσεις, ενώ η τελική έγκριση για την άδεια εγγραφών μαθητών στο σχολείο αναμένεται το προσεχές φθινόπωρο.

Έχοντας ως πρότυπο την επιτυχημένη «Αρχιμήδεια Ακαδημία» στο Μαϊάμι της Φλώριδας το charter σχολείο «Οδύσσεια» έχει θέσει στόχους παρόμοιους με τα επιτεύγματα της εν λόγω ακαδημίας.

«Το να καταλάβεις τις πρώτες θέσεις (1% στα μαθηματικά και 3% στην ανάγνωση) σε σχεδόν 1.880 δημοτικά σχολεία στη Φλώριδα είναι ένα εκπληκτικό επίτευγμα και για τους μαθητές και για το διδακτικό προσωπικό», επισημαίνει ο Tony Skoutelas, επικεφαλής της ανάπτυξης της διδακτέας ύλης στην «Οδύσσεια» και γραμματέας του Δ.Σ. του σχολείου. «Βασιζόμενοι στην έρευνα καθώς και στην τεκμηριωμένη απόδοση παρόμοιων με το δικό μας προγραμμάτων δημοτικής εκπαίδευσης, διανοίγονται μεγάλες προοπτικές για τους μαθητές του δικού μας charter σχολείου».

Η σχετική αίτηση για τη δημιουργία του charter σχολείου «Οδύσσεια» στο Delaware κατετέθη τον Ιούλιο του 2004, σε συνεργασία με την AHEPA και με την «Innovative Schools Development Corporation» η οποία εξειδικεύεται στη δημιουργία και χρηματοδότηση charter σχολείων.

«Οι εξαιρετικές σπουδές δημοτικής εκπαίδευσης που θα παράσχει σύντομα το σχολείο «Οδύσσεια» θα προστεθούν στα ήδη ευρέως επιτυχημένα charter ιδρύματα όπως το «Charter School of Wilmington» και το «Delaware Military Academy» τα οποία λειτουργούν στο Red Clay», δηλώνει ο Irwin Becnel, Jr., πρόεδρος του Δ.Σ. της σχολικής περιφέρειας του Red Clay.

Sculpture In Athens To Honor Greek Battalion From World War II
By Steve Frangos
Special to The National Herald


On Saturday afternoon, May 28, in the Military Alsos Park in Athens,
Andrew G. Saffas’ Soldier Memorial Monument, will be unveiled and formally
dedicated in honor of a very special group of World War II veterans.

Sixty-one years ago, 187 members of the Greek American Operational groups
of Company C 2671 Special Reconnaissance Battalion entered Greece by
parachute and amphibious landings. All the Greek American commandos in
this group were volunteers. More importantly, with but a handful of
exceptions, the majority of these men were Greek immigrants and Greek
Americans.

The genesis of Company C 2671 Special Reconnaissance Battalion was the
122nd Infantry Battalion, also known more informally as the Greek
Battalion. The Battalion received this name since it was a conscious mix
of Greek immigrants and Americans of Greek descent. The Greek nationals
who joined the Greek Battalion left their beloved homeland when the Nazis
occupied Greece. They were from Athens, Piraeus, the Greek islands and
rural parts of mainland Greece. The Greek Americans were from every region
of America; both large cities, as well as small towns like Copperhill,
Tennessee and Salinas, California and Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The Greek Battalion was founded by an executive order of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was designated the 122nd to commemorate 122
years of Greek independence after 400 years of Ottoman rule.

By August 1943, the 122nd had completed seven grueling months of infantry
training at Camp Carson Colorado, under the superb leadership of Major
Peter D. Clainos, the first Greek-born West Point graduate. In early 1944,
due to an array of political pressures the Greek Battalion was disbanded.
Whatever diplomatic considerations influenced politicians in Washington,
other branches of the government were very well aware of the extensive
commando training and unique language abilities these men possessed.

The Office of Strategic Services (OSS), which was the precursor to the
Central Intelligence Agency, advised the battalion commanders that they
were seeking volunteers for a covert hazardous mission, and that the
casualty rate was expected to be extremely high. The 187 Greek nationals
and the Greek American volunteers were not deterred. They were ready and
willing to help oust the Axis invaders from Greek soil.

The elite unit consisted of seven groups. Each group consisted of 24 men
and two officers. A few men were headquartered in Bari, Italy. According
to Major Clainos, every man within the battalion volunteered. Initially,
the OSS asked for 15 volunteers, but after the battalion was reviewed,
they revised the number to 200.

BEST KEPT SECRETS

In 1944, these OSS commandos infiltrated Greece and joined forces with the
Greek Resistance. With support from British forces and the Greek
Resistance, the American-trained Greek and Greek American OSS commandos
disrupted the German withdrawal from Greece by destroying bridges,
convoys, trucks, trains and railroad tracks. The war record of the Greek
Battalion is one the best kept secrets of World War II (the records of all
the Ethnic Operational Groups were kept sealed by the CIA until 1988).
After hearing all this, it is surprising to discover that this story still
remains one of America’s military history’s lesser known chapters.

To date, two memoirs have been issued by surviving members of the Greek
Battalion. The first was Yiannis by John Giannaris and McKinley C. Olson,
(Pilgrimage Publishers, Tarrytown, N.Y.: 1988). The latest account is
Greek/American Operational Group Office of Strategic Services (OSS)
Memoirs of World War II by Andrew S. Mousalimas of Oakland, California
(www.pahh.com). Mr. Mousalimas is a highly decorated member of the Greek
Battalion and has become the group’s de facto historian and foremost West
Coast advocate. Both he and his wife Mary have been ardent supporters and
tireless promoters of the Memorial Monument and will be among the honored
guests at the unveiling celebration.

Mr. Saffas, the noted 82-year-old Greek American artist, is the creator of
the Soldier Memorial Monument. Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, he
is a well-known San Francisco Bay Area Artist whose talents include bronze
sculpture, photography, iconography, oil painting, theater murals and
ceramics. While Mr. Saffas is an award-winning artist in various media and
continues to have his work regularly exhibited throughout California and
the West, his involvement with this project almost has nothing to do with
his being an artist. It was Saffas’ friendship of more than 50 years with
various survivors of the Greek Battalion which appealed to him and
captured his interest.

In December 1998, he began to create designs for the proposed monument. In
1999, driven by the desire to honor these men, he produced countless
drawings to achieve a design which would do them justice. He created a
design depicting a Greek Battalion soldier alert, determined and ready for
combat. At the age of 77, realizing that he might have just a few
productive years left, he made the decision to create a clay prototype for
the bronze soldier.

Thereafter, to ensure that the Soldier would be accurate in all respects,
Mr. Saffas spent hundreds of hours researching, consulting with military
experts, and procuring authentic uniform, gear and weapons. In late August
2002, he delivered the prototype to the Artworks Foundry & Gallery in
Berkeley, California to undergo the mold-making process. It was a
complicated piece which required many sections to be cast separately
(using the classic lost wax process), before being assembled and welded
together. The one-meter bronze statue for the Monument was completed in
January 2003.

The unveiling of the Soldier Memorial Monument is a unique moment in
American, Greek and Greek American history. It is important to remember
that these Greek and Greek American volunteers fought side-by-side for the
liberation of Greece, and to secure ultimate victory for the Allies.

On Saturday at the Military Alsos Park, the attending Greek Battalion
veterans will be among the most senior individuals at the ceremony
averaging between 70 and 80 years of age. We owe these survivors a debt of
thanks for the liberties and freedom we now enjoy.

Readers interested in contacting Mr. Frangos are encouraged to e-mail him
at greekwrite@yahoo.com. For more information on Mr. Saffas, visit the web
at www.saffasart.com

Copyright©2004 The National Herald, Inc.