My story is about human fortitude for survival through unimaginable and indescribable life events, how a child grew up during the Nazi occupation and the Greek civil war and survived to tell his horrid story.

I was born in a small village in Greece called Vresthena, surrounded by tall and rugged mountains, into a world on the brink of a catastrophic event that no one was expecting or prepared for.  It was the dark day of the Nazi invasion and occupation, followed by the Greek civil war when my inconceivable courage and fortitude for survival began.

From the young age of five, I witnessed the horrors of the brutal Nazi occupation. The village I called home became a battleground, torn apart by the clashes between the Nazis and the Greek resistance. My parents struggled to maintain some semblance of normalcy and keep us alive from starvation and stray bullets. 

I witnessed unthinkable atrocities, many deaths, and the destruction of my village perpetrated by both sides. After the end of both wars nine years later, through sheer conviction, I was fortunate to immigrate to America for a better life.

I built a new life in my new country. A life I never dreamed was possible, but the memories of the past never faded; they became a driving force to succeed, and I shared my story with the world, hoping it will never forget what happened to me and millions of others who lived and survived and to thousands who met their deaths by the Nazis.

My story of survival is a reminder that even in the face of unimaginable hardships, resilience can prevail. It stands as a testimony to the strength of the human will and the power of hope for a future free from the shackles of war.