In our village, several brass made busts have been sculptured in honour of the police officers Giannakis Aeroporos and Vanios Spanias who were lost in action. Giannakis Aeroporos was killed in Omorphita in 1963 and Vanios Spanias in Gerolakkos in 1974. 

Vanios Spanias was born in our village in 1944. He got married to Yiola Hadjivasili from Lefkosia and together they had one son named Andreas. In 1963, young Vanios enlisted in the National Guard of Volunteers that was established in order to face the Turkish mutiny. He took part in the battles of Omorphita, where Giannakis Aeroporos was killed in the line of fire. Later on, he joined the police force “although he had been offered a scholarship for overseas studies”. He was always present whenever his country needed him. He fought in the battles of Masoura and afterwards, when the Turks invaded the island, he was in the first line of fire. He was heroically killed in Gerolakkos, near the LefkosiaInternationalAirport.    

“Their sacrifice left a sacred heritage to the Cypriot police force. They honoured their uniform and badge as well as the double mission of the Police Force, which is obligated by law not only to fight crime but also to defend Freedom and the country, wherever and whenever duty calls. We remember them, we get strength but we also draw courage from them. Their sacrifice shows the way which inspires us and fills us with hope and faith”. The aforementioned are only a few words taken from the memorial speech of the Chief Superintendent of Police, Mr. Ioannis Georgiou in order to praise the bravery and courage of these two heroic figures.      

Every year, the Association of Expatriates and Friends of Phasoula performs national memorial services to honour the heroes, which, as the Chief Superintendent characteristically mentioned during his memorial speech, “do not just consist a conventional reminder and reference to the facts but also a grate debt towards those who fought and sacrificed their lives for a free country, those who protected Thermopiles”.      

Source:

Annual magazine of the Association of Expatriates and Friends of Phasoula, “Phasoula”, vol.16, August 2007