Legend OF A
FLAG
Legend has it that the American Flag was made by Elizabeth (Betsy) Ross. For a long time this was the public's prevailing belief, although unsupported entirely by any historical facts. It remains, however, as an inspiring and noble sentiment probably for most Americans. The story appears to have been started by William Canby, grandson of Betsy Ross. In a speech he once made to the Pennsylvania Historical Society, he said General George Washington had consulted with Betsy Ross, a maker of flags, to plan the flag. It is possible, therefore, to believe that Betsy Ross was also the maker of the new Flag.
In a separate story below, another American flag was made by an American, again to celebrate victory and freedom. This time, however, the event occurred under different circumstances outside of American soil but imbued with the same sentiment.
DECLARATION
by
(nee B
I and my husband, Constantine G. Karras, and our three children who were born in Miami, Florida and whose names are George C. Karras, Athanassios C. Karras, and Constance C. Karras, resided in Athens, Greece (16, Anastassiou Tsocha, Ampelokipi). Together, as a family, we endured fully the bitter experience of the fall and subsequent occupation of Greece by the Axis forces in Wold War II, and we were stripped by the German occupation military authorities of our American passports and given instead substitute letters by the Swiss Red Cross in Athens, the said letters describing generally our status as U.S. citizens.
On the very day (October 1944), and moments after we witnessed the first British troops entering Athens in buses from Kifissias Avenue, arriving at Ampelokipi Terminus (Terma Ampelokipon), and turning right at Alexandras Avenue, while at the same time, and in plain view of all witnesses present, the German contingent staffing the nearby Hippokration Hospital departed in an orderly formation on Vassilissis Sophias Avenue in the direction of Syntagma Square, the said contingent marching on the very road which today lies in front of the Embassy of the United States of America, I and my family made and hoisted what may well have been the first American Flag to appear in Athens immediately after the occupation began to crumble.
We set out feverishly to prepare the Flag by using our few remaining white linen bed sheets. The most difficult task became the preparation of the Stars, not only because of their shape but also because of the need to have ninety-six pieces displayed on both sides of the blue field. I sewed the Flag with my own hands, proudly and with deep personal satisfaction completing the task within hours, while my family hovered over me pressing, impatiently, that I should do the job quickly. The Flag was eventually hung from a pole (an ordinary rounded piece of wood) and secured on the iron grill work of our third floor bedroom window (at Villa Dessylla, 18 Anastassiou Tsocha Street) and appeared prominently visible from various directions in the surrounding area.
Soon after the Flag was displayed, a committee of wandering liberation enthusiasts respectfully approached our home and requested to borrow the Flag in order to display it the following day at a planned Liberation Parade in the center of Athens, with the promise that the Flag would be returned to us at the end of what expectedly became one of a series of tumultuous events. The Flag was returned as promised, and remained hoisted for quite some time until both the blue and red colors eventually began to fade to a shade of sky-blue and pink, respectively, due to exposure and to the poor quality of dyes we were able to garner.
This historical Flag was eventually lost because of our speedy departure to the United States the following year.
It might be worthy to mention that, on one occasion during the civil upheaval of December 1944, which has been known as the "Bloody December," while British fighter planes dove low and strafed with machine gun fire the area of Ampelokipi, upon spotting the Flag, quickly interrupted their descent and waved their wings in greeting as they flew low over our home with a terrifying sound, soaring again high into the sky and returning from a different approach toward their target.
Along with my signature and testimony which appears above, my children are co-signing these presents as they, too, witnessed the events described above.
NOTE: The Athens Swiss Consulate and not the Swiss Red Cross is who issued the above cited Letter of Protection [Schutzbrief].
This Declaration text and its anecdotal account executed and officially witnessed in 1992, along with personal photographs, are exclusive personal property and may not be emulated, reproduced, and distributed without authorized permission.
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On a separate occasion, a Nazi officer (boots and all) with his aide entered our above cited home without warning and after inspecting all the rooms ordered the family to vacate the premises within two hours.
In the glass-paned veranda where he first entered he spoke to me in German. I gestured my inability to understand. He tried again with some French he mumbled in a deplorable accent. I repeated my gesture and an impasse was reached. His aide stood by motionless and silent. Then, I had the temerity to ask him in English if he spoke English. I have never forgotten the stern look he gave me, while he also appeared somehow stunned. Nonetheless, he nodded to the affirmative and said he was going to inspect all the rooms. The shock in the faces of the rest of the family is needless to describe. My mother was in the kitchen when he appeared before her, filling the room with his sudden irreconcilable military presence together with his aide, inspiring nothing but terror and confusion. He inspected the dining room and the den. He then proceeded up the stairs to the two bedrooms, the bathroom, and a large walk-in closet. He first entered the master bedroom. My father was lying down in bed in his shorts with one knee elevated and the other leg crossed over. By incredible coincidence he was reading a back issue of the American Legion magazine (being a WW I veteran), with the front cover most visible by anyone walking into the room. Strewn all around him on the bed were a whole bunch of additional issues whose front cover was also most visible. The German observed the scene but said nothing. Next, he went into the large walk-in closet situated between the two bedrooms. He opened all the upright closet doors on his left. He looked at everything and even saw an Italian Fascist helmet of the Albanian campaign that was given to me as my share by some youthful activities that were always afoot during that period. Again, he said nothing. He then went into the bedroom that my brother and I shared. And lo, on my small study desk he saw and focused much attention on a crystal radio that I had rigged, using some old earphones from the flea market on Athenás Street downtown Athens. Adding to the spectacle was the diagonal crossing on the ceiling of the room of antenna wires with insulators and connecting down to the crystal apparatus. He looked at all of this installation and still said nothing. He then inspected the bathroom and departed down the stairs, only giving his ultimatum for us to vacate the premises within the next two hours. That radio device was for us the only way of receiving free news from the North African Allied sector at that time. It is incomprehensible — even at this writing sixty-three years later — that no action was ever taken against us by the Germans for what this man had witnessed in our home and for what he was about to experience a short time thereafter.
His objective was clear that he planned to occupy our residence because of the quality of living he anticipated to enjoy and because of the strategic location and advantage the structure offered. Both bedrooms on the third floor commanded a broad view of the surroundings, which would have been important to him and his staff. He arrived outside the property as he had stated, riding in his staff car and escorted by his military entourage in a military truck also carrying his personal effects. He himself proceeded to open the heavy metal gate to the driveway in the front garden. To his consternation, however, he only achieved a humiliating disappointment. He began to strike his baton on his boot as he paced to and fro in a great rage. Our window shutters were closed tight and with much anxiety we all watched him at a distance through the cracks. The obstacle that stopped him cold in his tracks was a 9 x 7 cardboard sign issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Consulate in Athens. The sign announced that siblings resided here who are American citizens [three of us American born] under the protection of Switzerland, and the Consulate requested the Greek Authorities [under occupation, of course] to extend all needed protection. This incredible demolishment of his arrogant plan occurred on account of the resourcefulness, energy, and lightening speed with which my father had acted. Below appears copy of the notice posted on the front gate and dated September 29, 1944.
"GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH"
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