One thousand young boys and girls from Roumeli were enlisted to bolster the ranks of the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE) at Groma. An additional three hundred children joined along the way, coming from villages in the Thessalian plains.

Many of these last children, when given the opportunity, ran away back to their villages. They began on February 18, 1948, and managed to reach Groma by the end of March, totaling fewer than four hundred after 40 days of incredible adventure.

On the feast day of the Annunciation, a second collective enlistment took place, involving over three hundred girls from Evrytania. Many of these children, the ones who naturally survived, ended up as refugees in Tashkent and elsewhere.

The most notable case is that of the "saint" Vasilis, who met his two sisters at Groma, but they did not recognize him. The three siblings ended up in Tashkent.