2007 Press Releases
U.S. Ambassador Sees Ancient Olympia Fire Damage, Lays Wreath to Honor 1943 Nazi Victims at Kalavrita
December 13, 2007
U.S. Ambassador Daniel V. Speckhard took his first trip outside Athens on December 12-13, traveling to Pyrgos and ancient Olympia to see wildfire recovery efforts, and to Kalavrita for the annual memorial service in honor of those massacred by the Nazi occupation forces in 1943.
On December 12, the Ambassador visited the ancient site of Olympia and other areas ravaged by the catastrophic wildfires in August with local forestry officials and firefighters. After seeing the devastation first hand, Ambassador Speckhard said, “I offer my deepest sympathies to the victims of these fires and their families. Like other Americans, I was horrified by this summer’s fires in Greece. Today, I was impressed by the intensive work underway to restore this site of so much importance to this country and to the world. The U.S. stands firmly behind Greece in its recovery efforts.”
Immediately after Greece declared a state of emergency on August 25, USAID offered $700,000 in emergency funds and commodities to the Hellenic Red Cross and $1.2 million in protective gear for firefighters and technical assistance to the Greek government, for a total of $1.9 million in U.S. government funding. Two teams of top U.S. firefighters and disaster recovery specialists have since come to Greece, and will return for further cooperation.
On December 13, Ambassador Speckhard attended the annual memorial service for the citizens of Kalavrita who were executed by Nazi occupying forces on that date in 1943. He laid a wreath at the gravesite and said, “I am deeply saddened by the tragedy that occurred at Kalavrita. It is important that we never forget what happened here, and work together to ensure that the peace and security Europe now enjoys carry forward into the future.”
