Palikari
from Vatolakos
J. MAROPOULAKIS DENNEY
Δεν είμαι από την Κισσάμου
Ούτε από την Καστελλη
Μόνο είμαι από Βατόλακο
Του Περουλοβαγγελι
By Nikos Peroulakis, for his father
A
n “Evzone” is a Greek soldier who is member of
what was the most elite military fighting unit in
the Greek military, formed from top members of the
military branches. Evzone recruits were required to
meet strict standards, both physical and mental, just
one of which is that they are required to be at least six
feet, one inch tall. Until recently, the Evzones were
the Mountain Troops, or rangers of the Greek army,
and also served as the Presidential Guards, which are
the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Flag
Guards and at the president’s residence. Sometime
after the war, the elite Special Operations Evzone units
were re-designated as Mountain Raiding Companies,
and the Special Forces are no longer designated as Evzones to my understanding. Today, the Evzones are the
specialized Presidential Guards wearing the traditional
palace guard uniform.
Evaggelos Peroulakis was born in the village of Vatolakos, Chania, Crete, in 1910. Vatolakos is a small farming village near Alikianou, in the foothills of the White
Mountains. There, he grew to be a palikari (παληκάρι), a
term which is impossible to translate into English with
one word, but in its truest sense means a young man
who is strong, athletic, masculine, God-fearing, honest,
brave and patriotic.
Like all Cretans, Vaggeli carried the undying desire
for freedom permanently engraved inside his soul,
burned there by the hundreds of years of continuous
struggle by the people of Crete against foreign occupation. He was recruited from the Greek army to be an
Evzone around 1928, although records are too scarce
to be certain of the date. After undergoing the rigorous
Evzone training regimen, he served for two years as a
guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Athens.
He returned to Vatolakos around 1930 or 1931.
There, he married his love, Argyro Varypatakis, and
they had six children, the oldest of which is Nikos Per-
18
KPHTH | May 2014
Evaggelos Peroulakis, also known as Peroulovaggelis.
oulakis. Nikos is a charter member of the Pancretan
Association chapter named in honor of his father, the
Evaggelos Peroulakis/ Mikis Theodorakis Association of
Cretans of the Mahoning Valley, Ohio. Argyro Varypatakis’ mother was the sister of Former PAA President
Ted Manousakis’ father. President Manousakis knew
Vaggeli Peroulakis well, and when he learned that our
chapter had been named after him, he sent the following note to this author:
“Congratulations on an excellent choice for the chapter name. Peroulovaggelis, as we used to call him, was
a stand-out person in the village; the most dedicated
of family men, the hardest of workers, and an example
for the community. He was married to my first cousin,
Argyro, so we were certainly family. But more so, Vaggeli was my childhood mentor, and the one individual
whom I tried to emulate every day of my formative
years. It warms me to see that this incredible man is
recognized by our PAA community.”
When the Italians invaded Greece through Albania on
October 28, 1940, Vaggeli was returned to military duty
in a Cretan unit and immediately sent to the Albanian
front. The winter of 1940-1941 was bitter cold, and in
the high mountains of northern Greece and southern
Albania, the snow and cold were unbearable. Peroula-