Petrakos - Post

Charles Petrakos

Petrakos Post

Not Every Hero Flew.

Tribute to Charles Petrakos. The first Greek - American awarded the Silver Star in WW2 for heroic actions during the Pearl Harbor raid, where he shot down one Zero and probably one more! For more details follow the link below:

https://www.greeks-in-foreign-cockpits.com/pilots-crews/gunners/charles-petrakos/

Phillips - Post

Phillips Family

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Like Father Like Son. Tribute to Greek American family of US Army Gunners during WW2 and Vietnam Wars, flying with B-17s (92nd BG) and UH-1s (282nd AHC). We urge you to read the stories of Alexander Phillips and his son William (Bill) Phillips who honored both the United States and Greece with their service and bravery, following the links below:

 

https://www.greeks-in-foreign-cockpits.com/pilots-crews/gunners/alexander-phillips/

 

https://www.greeks-in-foreign-cockpits.com/pilots-crews/gunners/william-phillips/

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Wiliam Kehayias

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William “Bill” Vasilios Kehayias was born in New York City, July 10, 1925. His father, Zafirios Anthony Kehayias was a Greek immigrant from Chorlou, a small town in Eastern Thrace, which at the turn of the 20th Century was part of the Ottoman Empire. Zafirios was born May 21, 1893, was a cobbler and married to Vasiliki who was from the nearby town of Rodosto, also in Eastern Thrace. They immigrated to the US on the SS Argentina, arriving September 1, 1913, and settled in New York City. Zafirios eventually owned and operated a shoe repair and hat cleaners at 3675 Broadway in upper Manhattan. According to his Declaration of Intention to naturalize, submitted on June 9, 1924, he and Vasiliki were living at 228 West 149th Street. Their son Vasilios (William) was born a year later. Zafirios struggled to keep his shoe store during the Great Depression and to add to his troubles, his wife Vasiliki passed away and he was raising his son Bill by himself. The Kehayias family joined the Greek Orthodox Church community of St. Spyridon in Washington Heights, located on Wadsworth Avenue, not that close to where they lived but the most vibrant Greek community in NYC, if not among the Greek communities in the entire United States. Bill joined the St. Spyridon youth group called the EON (Elliniki Orthodox Neolea - Greek Orthodox Youth), where Bill played basketball and captained the EON baseball and football teams. Vasili “Bill” was a bright student and when he completed junior high school, applied and was accepted into one of the top public high schools in NYC, Stuyvesant High School. According to his 1943 high school yearbook, he must have excelled in there, earning a scholarship pin, making the honor roll, and was his class Vice President. A typical wartime yearbook, Bill listed that his post-high school plan was to join in the US Army Air Corps. While still a high school senior, he enlisted in the US Army Air Force on April 9, 1943, in the USAAF’s Air Cadet Program for high school students. As a 17-year-old, he needed his father’s signature on his enlistment papers and his father was reluctant to sign, giving his permission for his only son to join the army. After a few minutes, Bill got impatient and said to his Greek immigrant father:

For more details please follow the link below:
https://www.greeks-in-foreign-cockpits.com/pilots-crews/gunners/bill-kehayias/

SakiS - Post

Achilles Sakis

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USAF F-16D VISTA

Achilles 'Chili' Sakis (Tsakeredes) is the son of Greek immigrants, George (deceased) and Sotiria Tsakeredes, who emigrated to the United States from Greece. Achilles is named after his grandfather, whose Pontic Greek family was forced from the Trabzon area of Turkey during the forced deportation of Greeks from the area in the early 1900s. Sotiria’s father moved his wife, Agape, and their four children from a small village near Kilkis, Greece to the United States in search of a better life in the mid-1940s. They arrived by boat on Ellis Island when Sotiria was only nine years old. Years later, when Sotiria was 17, she was visiting Greece and heard of a celebration happening in Vyroneia, a small village not far from where she was raised as a child. It is there that she met and fell in love with her husband, George. George had served in the Greek Army and was now living in his hometown village of Vyroneia, where he farmed and raised livestock. He played the ......

For more details please follow the link below:
https://www.greeks-in-foreign-cockpits.com/pilots-crews/test-pilots-flight-test-engineers/achilles-sakis/

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Alexander Hnarakis

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Writing Alex ‘Yogi’ Hnarakis tribute was a kind of weird to me. I knew him well through the English language articles regarding Top Gun and FLIR Integration to the mighty Tomcat but didn’t have the chance to get in touch with him, through letters and emails. His career epitomized the profession (although I prefer the word passion) of a naval aviator. I was determined to contact him and ask him to write me the prologue for our third volume of GREEKS IN FOREIGN COCKPITS, which will be published in 2020 and will feature mostly USN pilots operating from aircraft carriers during WW2. My request was addressed through a common friend and fellow naval aviator David Baranek, and I was waiting for his answer. Unfortunately, he got ill and passes away, so I missed a chance to know a great man. The least I could do was to gather all the information I found from published articles as well as various websites and newspapers in order to present to the Greek people and Greeks worldwide a remarkable aviator. Alexander Hnarakis was of Greek parentage (third generation Greek American) and born in Alexandria Virginia on August 14, 1958. He was the son of Gus Hnarakis, who’s the father (Alex grandfather), Emanuel Hnarakis, immigrated from the island of Crete to the US, in 1910. His heritage was from Thrapsano, a small village outside Heraklion city. In the United States, he was married to Bessie Vasilakis, who was also from Thrapsano. In fact, the two families were known each other very well. Emanuel and Bessie had 7 children, Gus, Alex father, was one of them. Hnarakis family .....

For more details please follow the link below:
https://www.greeks-in-foreign-cockpits.com/pilots-crews/fighter-pilots/alex-hnarakis/

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Peter Darakis

Peter Manual Darakis was born in Amherst Ohio on June 28, 1928. Peter was the youngest of 3 sons born to John Darakis and Phyllis Darakis (nee Dietrich). Peter’s father, John Darakis, originally from Sklavopoula on the island of Crete, moved to the mainland to Leonidion, Argolidos to be a carpenter’s apprentice. It was from there he immigrated to the United States in August 1912 at the age of 22, leaving on the ship Themistocles from the port of Piraeus. Upon arriving in the US, Ellis Island, John set out for the west coast working on the railroad. He ended up in Pocatello, Idaho. It is unclear what brought him back east, but he finally ended up in Lorain, Ohio in 1921 which, at the time, had a large Greek population. It was in Lorain that he met and married Phyllis Dietrich in 1922. John and Phyllis settled in Amherst, Ohio where Peter and his 2 brothers were born. Peter’s two older brothers, Arthur and James, soldiered in WW II. Arthur served in Europe in the US Army and James in the US Navy in the Pacific. Like their father, both men learned a trade for a living. When the Korean War broke out Peter was 22 years old, had completed high school in Amherst, Ohio and had attended Bowling Green University in Bowling Green, Ohio. He had also spent some time working with his father as a builder of houses. Those who knew Peter found him quiet but well-liked. His friends called him "Pete”. Peter applied for the Air Force

 

 

For more click the link below.

https://www.greeks-in-foreign-cockpits.com/pilots-crews/fighter-pilots/peter-darakis/

 

 

 

 

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Grimes-Post

Demetries Grimes

Demetries’ father, Melvin Grimes enlisted in the US Navy when at the age of seventeen and served as an Engineman on everything from mine-hunters, amphibious ships, patrol boats, frigates, and destroyers. He was at sea during the Cuban missile crisis and other historic moments during the Cold War. According to Demetries, he was a proud sailor and American, and he retired as a Chief Engineman after more than 23 years of naval service. His mother’s maiden name was Pappaleonidas and her heritage is from the village of Efira, near Amaliada and Pyrgos in the Peloponnese. His parents met while his father was assigned to the US Navy Base at Nea Makri. His best friend’s fiancé was his mother’s best friend, which is how they met. They were married at St. Demetrios ....

 

For more click the link below.

https://www.greeks-in-foreign-cockpits.com/pilots-crews/nfos-wsos-mission-co/demetries-grimes/

 

 

 

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Papayanni-Post

John Papayanni

John Clifford Papayanni was born in Wagga Wagga on May 5, 1920, the youngest of three sons (Basil and George) of Nicholas Papayanni and his wife, Winifred (nee Hill). All of them grew up in Kogarah. Cliff's grandfather and great-uncle, Basilio, and George, from Smyrna, Asia Minor, had founded the Papayanni Steamship Company in Liverpool, England. Unfortunately, Basilio's son, Nicholas, gambled away the fortune and headed to Australia, where he met and married Winifred. Cliff was brilliant at school and earned entrance into the selective Canterbury Boys High School where he was always at the top of his class. Unfortunately, as the family was poor, he was forced to quit school early. Cliff loved school and cried the day he was compelled to leave and find work at the age of 13 in order to earn money.

 

For more click the link below.

https://www.greeks-in-foreign-cockpits.com/pilots-crews/gunners/cliff-papayanni/

 

 

 

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Leon Moutsos

Leon Moutsos was the son of the Greek immigrant couple, Emanuel (Volakis) Moutsos and Jasmine Moutsos. Emanuel gave the nickname of Moutsos when he came through Ellis Island (as he did not speak English). Later his real last name was appended as a middle name. He immigrated from Samos in 1908. He came over via Ellis Island, got a job on the railroads in Tennessee, and worked his way over to Chicago. He entered the draft at 18 years of age and was gassed fighting the Germans in WW I. He was given an honorable discharge and awarded the Purple Heart. He remained a barber for the rest of his life and retired in Colorado. Leon was born in Colorado and continuing his father legacy, he fought in WW II and during the Korean War, was debriefing Greek Generals as he spoke fluent Greek and English. They flew him to Cyprus during the Korean War ......

For more details follow the link below:
https://www.greeks-in-foreign-cockpits.com/pilots-crews/gunners/leon-moutsos/

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Chioles-Post

Constantine Chioles

Constantine ‘Connie’ Chioles was born on June 1, 1915, in Aurora, Illinois. He was the son of Samuel Konstantine and Emily Chioles. Samuel immigrated to the United States in the early 1900's along with his brother John Konstantine Chioles. Their heritage was from Levidi in Arkadia, few kilometers outside Tripolis. The Greek spelling of their surname was originally Tsioles. Αt least eight members of Chioles family immigrated to the US and initially settled in Aurora, Illinois, between them the two brothers which managed to established a candy store which they operated for some time until they moved to Chicago. Connie was born and grew up in Aurora. Before WWII he worked for the railroads. He enlisted in the US Army Air Corp on May 14, 1942. Before being posted overseas for duty he served as an instructor in the advanced training ......

 

For more details click the link below:

https://www.greeks-in-foreign-cockpits.com/pilots-crews/fighter-pilots/constantine-chioles/

 

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