WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., led a bipartisan group of members of the Congressional Hellenic Caucus in introducing a resolution to designate Oct. 28 as Oxi Day, his office said Thursday.

Pappas, who represents New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District, is co-chair of the caucus. His office did not name the other members who joined the resolution.

The observance marks Oct. 28, 1940, when, according to Pappas' office, Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas answered "Oxi!" ("No!") to an ultimatum from Italian dictator Benito Mussolini that Greece allow Axis forces to enter the country freely or face war.

Pappas' office said Metaxas' refusal sparked a national resistance movement and that Greece became the first country to repel the Axis invasion. The office also argued that Greece's resistance forced Nazi Germany to delay its invasion of Russia to intervene in the Greco-Italian War, a delay it said left German forces facing a harsh Russian winter that hindered their advance and contributed to their defeat.

Pappas' office said he was the first member of Congress to introduce legislation recognizing Oxi Day. He first introduced a bipartisan resolution designating the day in 2019 and has done so every year since, each time with bipartisan support, according to his office.

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