On August 29, 1922, a Greek corporal stood on the Smyrna waterfront in rags, burning with fever, watching a ship carryin...

On August 29, 1922, a Greek corporal stood on the Smyrna waterfront in rags, burning with fever, watching a ship carrying over 2,000 soldiers and civilians begin to pull away. Behind him was capture or death. Anastasios Meletiou Peppas had survived the entire catastrophic Greek retreat from the Anatolian front, marching for days on end to reach the coast, only to watch his last chance at escape start moving without him. He cupped his hands and screamed toward the deck, begging anyone aboard not to leave him to fall into the hands of enemy forces. Captain Dimitrios Zaglis, the artillery battery commander Peppas had served under, happened to be on deck and recognized the voice. He raised his binoculars, confirmed it was his corporal, and immediately went to the ship's captain demanding they retrieve him. The captain refused. Turning back to dock and re-moor risked the thousands of passengers already on board. Zaglis drew his revolver. He told the captain he had two bullets: one for him and one for himself. A compromise was reached. The ship would not dock but would execute a maneuver and drop a rope over the side. Then a second man appeared beside Peppas on the dock. He was an evzone who had made his own desperate way to Smyrna, also wracked with fever, barely able to speak. He understood Peppas had a chance at survival. He also could not swim. Peppas looked at him and asked: "Do your arms hold, soldier?" The plan was desperate and simple. Peppas would grab the rope, the evzone would wrap himself around his waist, keep his head above water, and kick his legs. The rope hit the water. Both men jumped. Both men were pulled aboard. They survived. The evzone's name was never recorded. Only the moment was: a man who had just found his own escape from death choosing not to leave alone. Back in Athens, Peppas's mother had already dressed in black and begun mourning her son. She had gone to Piraeus every day asking arriving soldiers if they knew anything about him. Then her front door opened. From 1922 until his death in November 1976, Peppas fasted strictly every August 29th, drinking only coffee and eating a small piece of bread. #SmyrnaDisaster #Mikrasiatiki...