As we commemorate another tragic event, we must not forget the 99th Anniversary of the Catastrophe of Smyrna on September 10th, 1922.  On this day, the world witnessed the first genocide of the 20th Century when Turkish troops entered the beautiful port of Smyrna and proceeded to burn down the Greek & Armenian quarters of the city!  As the fire raged, Turkish troops deliberately cordoned off the route to the bay seeing thousands burned and brutally killed!

All will remember the heroic Archbishop Christosomos of Smyrna, who was most brutally tortured, stabbed multiple times while his beard was pulled off and his eyes gauged out before the Turkish Army dragged his tortured body through the streets!

May his memory be forever eternal!

Dr.James F. Dimitriou
President & Chairman
American Hellenic Council