Captain Anthony Carras was born on November 23, 1920, in Detroit, Michigan, to Greek Asia Minor parents who came from the greater Smyrna region. His father, Charalambos Karasoglou, worked as a cook and, being a Turkish national, was conscripted into the Ottoman Army during World War I (1914–1918). His wife, Aikaterini (Katina) Karasoglou, came from a wealthy family of the Smyrna upper class, with a Greek father and a French mother, and spoke both Greek and French fluently. After surviving the war, Charalambos began to realize that the future of Hellenism in Asia Minor was increasingly uncertain. This was especially true following the rise of the Young Turk movement in 1908, whose nationalist policies soon turned hostile toward Christian minorities. Many Greeks, increasingly viewed as scapegoats for the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the loss of its Balkan territories, began to seek refuge abroad. In May 1919, under Allied authority, Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos ordered the landing of Greek troops in Smyrna to protect Christian civilians from nationalist violence. In the early stages of the campaign, the Hellenic Army advanced inland and reached the outskirts of Ankara. Nevertheless, Charalambos and Katina, who had just married, decided by the summer of 1920 to emigrate. On June 23, 1920, they left Smyrna for the port of Piraeus and boarded the ocean liner Patris, arriving in New York on July 14. At Ellis Island, their names were recorded as Charalambos Karasoglos and Katina Karasoglous. At the time, Katina was already three months pregnant. They initially settled in Gulfport, Mississippi, near Katina’s uncle Angelos Saricopoulos, but later moved to Detroit. Soon after, Charalambos anglicized his name to Harry J. Carras for ease of pronunciation. Due to complications during pregnancy, Katina gave birth prematurely to Anthony on November 23, 1920. He weighed only 1.5 kilograms and bore a permanent mark on his forehead from the forceps used during delivery. Despite this, the seven-month-old infant survived and grew into a beautiful child with blond hair and blue eyes. In 1922, responding to a letter from Katina’s parents—who were still living in Smyrna and desperate to see their grandchild—Katina traveled back to her homeland with 20-month-old Anthony. Tragically...

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Greek Version

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