The unexpected death of 19-year-old Rafail, a good-natured professional soldier at the 6th ETEΘ in Rhodes, following the likely accidental activation of a defensive hand grenade during a training firing exercise, has spread grief nationwide and especially in his hometown of Tympaki in Crete. The young man “left” before he could emerge from the twilight of his adolescence, and the pain, especially for his parents, is unspeakable. His friends also cannot believe the tragic news, and the heartbreak will intensify during his funeral at the holy church of Saint Titus on Friday, November 28 (11:00 AM).
Read: Unspeakable grief for the 19-year-old soldier: “He was a good boy, he wouldn’t hurt a fly”
Rafail’s father, commander of the Coast Guard Station of Kokkinos Pyrgos in Heraklion, is experiencing unbearable pain with the loss of his son. He left him happy in Rhodes on his first day as a professional soldier on Tuesday, November 25. According to neakriti.gr, he stated: “It was only his second day in the unit he joined, he reported on Monday and I left just yesterday and left him on his own. He was supposed to come on leave on Friday. After what happened, no one can help us. I lost my child. Now, only God can help me. What matters to us now is for my child to come back, even like this, back to his home“.
“Good journey”
Friends of 19-year-old Rafail wished him, through their own anguish, a good journey. Posts showing him make the moment even more heartbreaking, and the words, like a poisoned arrow, pierce the heart and cause mourning. “Have a good journey, you will always be in our hearts. Good Paradise”, “Good Paradise my good friend”, “Have a good journey to eternity my man. Watch over us from up there” are some of the posts from Rafail’s friends.
