Whereas, The ancient Greeks established the Olympic Games, the largest display of athletic skill and competitive spirit in the ancient world; and,

Whereas, The Founding Fathers of the United States drew heavily on the political experience and philosophy of ancient Greece in forming our representative democracy; and,

Whereas, The story of Greek military tactics used at the Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C. is still mandatory reading at the National War College in Washington, D.C.; and,

Whereas, Greek soldiers were with the United States Marines on the shores of Tripoli in the military operations memorialized in the United States Marines Hymn; and,

Whereas, Many Americans fought alongside the Greeks in their fight for Greek independence, while stirring speeches by President James Monroe and Daniel Webster led the Congress to send funds and supplies to aid the Greeks in their struggle for freedom; and,

Whereas, Greek Commander in Chief Petros Mavromichalis, a founder of the modern Greek state, said to the citizens of the United States in 1821, “It is in your land that liberty has fixed her abode…in imitating you, we shall imitate our ancestors and be thought worthy of them if we succeed in resembling you”; and,

Whereas, Greece is now one of only three nations in the world, beyond the former British Empire, that has been allied with the United States in every major international conflict in the twentieth century, including World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Desert Storm, and the Balkans; and,

Whereas, Greece played a major role in the World War II struggle to protect freedom and democracy through such bravery as was shown in the historic Battle of Crete and in Greece, presenting the Axis land war with its first major setback; and,

Whereas, Sir Winston Churchill said of the Greeks after this fighting, “Hence we will not say that Greeks fight like heroes, but that heroes fight like Greeks”; and,

Whereas, The author of a military history said, “The campaign in Greece and in Crete forced Hitler to postpone the invasion of Russia…and to fight a winter campaign…which brought Hitler’s war machine to a standstill”; and,

Whereas, The government of Greece has declared its solidarity with the American people and has pledged to back efforts to combat and eradicate terrorism in the aftermath of terror attacks on the United States of America; and,

Whereas, Greece and the United States are at the forefront of the effort for freedom, democracy, peace, stability and human rights; forging a close bond between our two nations and their peoples; and,

Whereas, March 25th, 2003, marks the 182nd Anniversary of the beginning of the revolution that freed the Greek people from the Ottoman Empire; and now therefore be it