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The Vietnam War was a time of hardship and struggle for the United States, with its involvement beginning in the 1950s and escalating until its withdrawal in 1973. Demetrios Kekos, a Greek Orthodox soldier who fought for America, also happens to be my grandfather (or pappou), and I interviewed him about his faith in relation to his time in the war.
Before being called to the war, Kekos was only in high school. He would attend church with his family multiple times a week and pray every chance he got. When he got drafted, he still had two months of high school left. It was unusual for him; no one told him to sign up for the draft, but they pulled him into the army anyway. When he was brought to the station, he and his friend put their names and dates of birth onto a draft card and handed it to the sergeant, who proceeded to pull him to a separate area to speak with him.
“I followed him into the room, and he looked at me and said, ‘You put the wrong date; you’re not eighteen, you’re almost nineteen.’ I said, ‘ Yes, I am.’” He had never trained for the army because he didn’t know anything about it. Two days later, he got called in for the medical screening.
“My mom and baba were so scared; I hadn’t even finished high school yet, and I had to go to the army with no training. They were trying to get me to leave the country.” They had bought him a ticket to leave his family and support Greece, but since starting a new life after immigrating to the United States, he decided to stay with them. “I got here to support this country. This is the army that drafted me, and this is where my family is now. So, I went with the U.S.”
Furthering the aspect of Greek Orthodoxy in his time at war, I asked my pappou if there were any specific prayers, icons, traditions, or symbols of Orthodoxy that he carried with him, either in his memory or physically when he left for Vietnam. He stated, “I always carried a small icon in my wallet, and I had a bigger one in my backpack. For the whole time I was there, the backpack stayed on me. Whenever we had a break, I would take out the icon and say a prayer to myself.” He also stated that he kept his cross on his dog tag, but he was not allowed to wear any other bracelets or necklaces because they were not able to have much on them.
In addition, I asked Kekos if he was able to pray or fast during the war, or if it was something that became internal to him. He explained, “I tried so hard to go to church, but there was not an Orthodox church anywhere near me. There was a Catholic church, but I was only willing to go to an Orthodox one. I had my cross on my neck, and I would do my cross and pray every single day. Once a month, though, we went to a chapel, but the rest of the time was spent in the jungle.”
“My parents, your grandmother, your grandparents, they went to church every single day to light a candle for me when I was away. They were really, really worried, and they prayed every day until I got back. They needed to do it to have peace of mind that I would be okay.”
Since returning to America, Demetrios has built his life in Jamaica, Queens, where he lives right around the corner from Saint Demetrios Church, his namesake saint. Most of his family has moved here as well, and we are all deeply connected to the church in Jamaica. I see my pappou every day, and I am so grateful to listen to all of his stories and wisdom that he has curated in his life, and I am so grateful to be able to see him so often.
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