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From the day he was arrested in
Thessaloniki until the early 1950s, Sarantidis had not communicated with his family who presumed him dead. Near the end of the war, he started to exchange letters with them and in 1965, he decided to return to Greece. With the aid of one of his brothers, who helped the
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in 1946. While there, he and the other legionnaires were told that the duration of their deployment would be short and that their mission would be to disarm the
Japanese and restore order. Sarantidis disliked the oppression of the local population by the French
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Sarantidis family to be issued passports, Sarantidis moved to
Thessaloniki. In the beginning, he faced severe economic difficulties as he was unemployed for several months. Eventually, he managed to find a job as a driver for
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and worked to help
Vietnam as well as promoting Greek-Vietnamese relations. Sarantidis was also active in helping children in Vietnam who had been affected by the
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Sarantidis died on 25 June 2021, aged 94. His remains were brought to
Vietnam and honored at a memorial service in Da Nang city in August 2022.
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on his official visit to
Vietnam in October 2008. In 2010, Sarantidis was given Vietnamese citizenship and a passport. In 2013, he was named a
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After the end of the war, Sarantidis went to Rome, and tried to be repatriated to Greece. This, however, proved impossible as he lacked any
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by the prospect of living an adventurous life and meeting beautiful women. After joining the legion, Sarantidis was initially moved to
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After the end of the war in 1954 and the division of
Vietnam into northern and southern zones, Sarantidis moved to
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and stole a military uniform which he used to disguise himself as a German until the end of the war.
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and served in various posts and participated in many battles. Eventually he rose to the rank of
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447:Ο Ελληνας μαχητής που έγινε μύθος στα βουνά του Βιετνάμ, Kathimerini online, 9/11/2014
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and retired from the army. At that time, he was married to a nurse who was accused of
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in 2011, the
Victory Medal, Third Class, and the Resistance War Medal, Second Class.
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to them, carrying with him his rifle and a machine gun. He was given the name
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Anh hùng lực lượng vũ trang Kostas
Sarantidis Nguyễn Văn Lập qua đời
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522:"Hero Kostas Sarantidis - Nguyen Van Lap laid to rest in Da Nang"
471:"Hero Kostas Sarantidis - Nguyen Van Lap laid to rest in Da Nang"
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Greek citizen receives
Vietnamese honour, Vietnam+, 30/08/2013
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Forced labourers under German rule during World War II
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369:and was imprisoned. Sarantidis worked as a German
16:Greek-Vietnamese guerrilla fighter (1927–2021)
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459:Greek hero's dedication to Việt Nam lives on
266:, seeking independence for Vietnam from the
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109:Learn how and when to remove this message
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290:. In the autumn of 1943 and during the
309:in Germany. He managed to escape near
282:Kostas Sarantidis was born in 1927 in
242:; 1927 – 25 June 2021), also known in
604:Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion
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589:Military personnel from Thessaloniki
47:adding citations to reliable sources
298:, he was arrested selling smuggled
599:Recipients of the Friendship Order
354:. In 1949, he was admitted to the
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594:People of the First Indochina War
584:Hero of the People's Armed Forces
415:Hero of the People's Armed Forces
272:Hero of the People's Armed Forces
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614:Naturalized citizens of Vietnam
34:needs additional citations for
629:Escapees from German detention
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579:Vietnamese military personnel
574:Greek prisoners and detainees
405:Sarantidis escorted the then
192:Greek, Vietnamese (from 2011)
569:Greek expatriates in Vietnam
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356:Communist Party of Vietnam
224:Communist Party of Vietnam
392:Communist Party of Greece
292:Axis occupation of Greece
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302:and was sent on foot to
256:People's Army of Vietnam
160:Second Hellenic Republic
268:French colonial empire
177:25 June 2021 (aged 94)
609:Vietnamese communists
327:French Foreign Legion
208:Participation in the
526:SGGP English Edition
475:SGGP English Edition
381:Later life in Greece
258:who fought with the
43:improve this article
307:forced labour camps
288:Asia Minor refugees
264:First Indochina War
210:First Indochina War
58:"Kostas Sarantidis"
323:identity documents
410:Karolos Papoulias
240:Κώστας Σαραντίδης
232:Kostas Sarantidis
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133:Kostas Sarantidis
127:Κώστας Σαραντίδης
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528:. 2 August 2022
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477:. 2 August 2022
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530:. Retrieved
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479:. Retrieved
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41:Please help
36:verification
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559:2021 deaths
554:1927 births
367:reactionism
262:during the
189:Nationality
548:Categories
449:, archived
429:References
402:toxicant.
371:translator
278:Early life
244:Vietnamese
173:2021-06-25
69:newspapers
335:Indochina
260:Viet Minh
99:June 2021
532:2 August
481:2 August
388:Pechiney
344:defected
250:, was a
183:, Greece
352:captain
331:Algeria
300:tobacco
274:order.
83:scholar
400:dioxin
311:Vienna
181:Athens
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375:miner
252:Greek
236:Greek
90:JSTOR
76:books
534:2022
483:2022
304:Nazi
167:Died
152:1927
149:Born
62:news
294:in
246:as
220:KKE
45:by
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