A veteran of World War II, retired air commodore Vyron Notis Sacharidis, passed away on Tuesday aged 99.
One of the last remaining fighter pilots, Sacharidis, saw action in Greece, Africa, and Italy during the war.
In his second year of cadet school, after the Greek-Italian war broke out, he went to the island of Crete, where he was captured by the Germans in May 1941. The locals helped him escape, eventually finding his way to the Middle East through Turkey and Syria. He ended up at the Hellenic Air Force's 336th Bomber Squadron under Britain's RAF after receiving training by the RAF in Gaza, South Africa, and Rhodesia.
In September 1944, he followed the squadron to Italy and returned to Greece to participate in Hellenic Air Force operations until 1949.
After the war, he held executive positions before being retired by the junta in 1967, with the air commodore rank he already held. In November 2019, the Air Force and current Hellenic National Defence Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos recognised him for his services.
*Source: The National Herald