104-year-old WWII veteran to lead Cypriot contingent at Sydney march
Source: in-cyprus.com
Evripidis Mouxouris, a 104-year-old World War Two veteran and member of the Cyprus Community of New South Wales, will lead his community at the 2025 ANZAC Day march in Sydney on Friday, according to the Greek Herald.
Born in Morphou, Nicosia in 1921 in a family of farmers, Mouxouris enlisted in 1943 with 800 members of the Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL) to join the Cyprus Regiment.
“In 1943, we were the first to volunteer as soldiers to fight fascism. I fought in Italy with the British Army, as we were still part of the British Empire in Cyprus. The Second World War was a terrible thing,” Mouxouris told the Greek Herald in a 2024 interview.
The veteran served in Palestine, Egypt and Italy, including frontline duty at Ancona and transporting supplies in the Adriatic Sea.
Mouxouris migrated to Australia in 1976 following the coup and invasion of Cyprus.
Speaking to the Greek Herald, the veteran expressed frustration about warfare, stating that people engage in wars and kill people without a reason. He noted the personal impact of conflict. “When the invasion happened, I was left only with the trousers I was wearing. We, who fought for freedom, I, who enlisted in the Army for World War Two, become a refugee in my own country. They took our land and put us out as refugees,” he said.
Now a proud Australian-Cypriot, Mouxouris remains committed to honouring his fallen comrades, the Greek Herald reports.
Mouxouris’s life story, along with those of five other Australian Cypriots, has been documented in the film “Two Homelands” by Kay Pavlou.
What is ANZAC Day?
ANZAC Day, observed annually on April 25, is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand. It honors the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations. The date marks the anniversary of the ANZACs’ first major military action during World War I, the landing at Gallipoli in 1915.
ANZAC Day traditions include dawn services, commemorative marches, wreath-laying ceremonies, and the playing of the “Last Post.”
Find out more about the Cypriot contingent at this year’s ANZAC Day Sydney march here: https://cyprus.org.au
The original article: belongs to in-cyprus.com .
