The Central Military Commission’s Standing Board and the Ministry ofNational Defence presented the title “Hero of the People’s ArmedForces” to Kostas Sarantidis (also known as Nguyen Van Lap), a Greekcitizen, in Hanoi on August 30.

Born in 1927, Sarantidiswas among the troops that were sent to Vietnam by French colonialist in1946. After landing in the country, he saw with his own eyes thecolonialists’ brutal acts against innocent Vietnamese people.

Realising the true nature of the crusade, as well as the just resistancewar of Vietnamese people, he followed the Viet Minh Front of theCommunist Party of Vietnam.

From 1946-1965, he served in theVietnam People’s Army and other fields in order to boost the friendshipbetween Vietnam and Greece.

Returning to Greece in late 1965,Sarantidis organised many practical activities to support Vietnam, whichhe considers his second homeland. He joined the Communist Party ofGreece, acting as a bridge linking the two Parties and Governments andtightening the friendly relations between the two countries.

Sarantidis has been awarded many precious titles by the Vietnamese Partyand State, including the Friendship Order in 2011, the VictoryMedal-level third and the Resistance War Medal-second class. He was alsogiven Vietnamese citizenship and a passport named Nguyen Van Lap in2010.

Speaking at the award ceremony, Senior Lieutenant GeneralNgo Xuan Lich, Head of the General Department of Politics under theVietnam People’s Army, acknowledged Sarantidis’ contributions toVietnam’s past struggle for national independence.

He expressed his hope that Sarantidis will continue to make more contributions to the Vietnam-Greece friendship.

For his part, Sarantidis said he is honoured to receive the title,adding that he will try his utmost to help strengthen the relationsbetween the two countries.-VNA