My ancestral village, Agios Ioannis Sparta, has the distinction of being the first village in all of Lakonia to erect a Ηρώο (war monument), in 1930. These memorials are found in every village in Greece, usually at the plateia or near the church. They memorialize the men who were killed while fighting to defend our country.

I wrote a detailed post about this for the Agios Ioannis website, which can be found here. Photos of the monument and transcriptions of the fallen are included.

No written history of Agios Ioannis exists, and sharing facts such as this help to raise awareness of the village. I am proud!