Two days and nights, and the great fires were still burning. They set the borders ablaze, carving a bright path on the dark road that had claimed so many thousands of lives. Along the entire Greek-Albanian border, on the highest peaks, the soldiers of the units that had occupied them, and remained there to prevent any possible entry of guerrillas, had been lighting huge fires for three days. It was their way of honoring their fallen comrades, the thousands who had breathed their last on the wild mountains.
The first fire was lit the night after the Army's complete victory, on the night of August 30, 1949, on the Kamenik height, by the 3rd Commando Company, with losses amounting to 54% of its men in just six days. The next fire was lit an hour later opposite, on the Batra height, then on to Kiafa, Tsarno, Porta Osman, Slimnitsa, Alevitsa. On every height a fire, across the entire Grammos a bright line, point by point, as if a shining needle was embroidering the whole mountain range, like the sword of angels and tears. The huge flames danced for three days and nights, sparking and filling the skies with flashes, resembling fireworks, fireworks of a bloody and painful celebration.
