Farewell to "Tombazis"

Everytime you leave a ship, you are full of joy and sadness. Joy because you have done your duty, and handed the ship over to someone else to continue the mission. I had mixed feelings about the "Tombazis", as my military maritime career was ending, and the "Tombazis" was being decommissioned, both at the same time.

Memories

The last captain, Mr. Dimosthenis Plamantouras, of the destroyer "Tombazis", which was decommissioned yesterday, spoke with the Nation Newspaper about his memories of the year and a half that he had served on board the ship. The captain stated that normally after having served his time at sea, that he would have continued his duties on land, but that was not going to happen this time.

The "Tombazis" after having served during 52 years of action, was decommissioned, and a special ceremony was held at the Salamina Naval Station for this occasion. The Commander of the Greek Navy, Mr. Leonidas Paliogeorge, said "That ships that had once been full of life and activity, were now just a mass of dead metal, but that they would become a part of the tradition and history of the Navy." He went on to say, "I felt funny when I thought about how the "Tombazis" which was one of our most important destroyers during the late 1970's and played one of the most important roles in the Navy, was now being placed out of commission. The "Tombazis and crew of 220 men had lived through the Turkish crisis at Imia, a small Greek Island near the Turkisk coast. Those were difficult moments."

Mr. Leonidas Paliogeorge, Greek Navy Commander, went on to say "All those thoughts came to mind, as the "Tombazis" will now start to slowly die. The Greek Navy received the "Tombazis" from the American Navy on June 6, 1977. The "Tombazis saw action in the Pacific Ocean during World War II, Korea, Vietnam and many missions with the American Fleet in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Later the "Tombazis" took part in the 1987 Greek-Turkish crisis of the Aegean Sea at the Island of Imia. The ship was to remain off the island coast for 10 days.