As reported on GCT, 97-year old Greek shipowner and World War II veteran, Iakovos Tsounis, has donated his entire fortune to the Greek armed forces.
Tsounis, who stated that he wants to leave life as he began it- barefoot, donated €23 million for the defence of the country and €60 million for landing craft.
On Wednesday, the President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou conferred the Grand Cross of the Order of Honour to Iakovos Tsounis.
The ceremony was attended by the Minister of National Defence, Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, the Deputy Minister of National Defence, Alkiviadis Stefanis, and the Chief of the General Staff of the Hellenic Armed Forces, General Konstantinos Floros.
“I honour the patriot who was distinguished for his contribution to the homeland since his adolescence, when at the age of sixteen he enlisted as a volunteer in the Greek army and fought on the Albanian front,” Sakellaropoulou said.
Tsounis was a “real businessman who did not rest of his laurels” but instead "put himself in the service of those in need, financially strengthening the work of many associations, institutions, committees and other organizations."
Commenting on his cultural contributions, the Greek President praised his role as a custodian of cultural heritage, having been "an avid collector of national and ecclesiastical relics, which he offered to his compatriots, creating his namesake museum at the city of Egio", in the Peloponnese.
On his part, Tsounis thanked the President for bestowing the honour on him, while pointing out that his selfless offer to the homeland is the “highest duty.”