Preservation of American Hellenic History
Preservation of American Hellenic History
First Lieutenant Robert F. Houlihan, an Irish American native of Lexington, Kentucky, was one of the four non-Greek-American officers who volunteered directly from the Greek Battalion to the Greek/USOG.
Lieutenant Houlihan succeeded Colonel Clainos as the commanding officer of the Greek/USOG, and he was elevated to the rank of Captain.
He retired at the rank of Major. During the numerous reunions of the Greek/USOG, Major Houlihan (ret.) always mentioned that he was proud and honored to have commanded the Greek/USOG and would neither envision nor consider going into combat with any group of men other than the "Greeks".
After two weeks of training in Area "H" we returned to Area "F" and received a seven-day pass prior to embarking for overseas. We were excited to get away for a few days. Civilian planes were out of the question. Only the VIPs had priority to fly with these carriers. The Californians could have risked flying on a military plane, but there was no guarantee we would be able to make the round trip and be back in seven days. The worst scenario was to be stuck in some military air base, not get a ride back to our camp, be unable to join our unit in time, and be transferred to another combat unit. The West Coast Greek OGs decided to spend their leave in New York City. It was a five-hour train ride from D.C. to New York. Traveling by train we had an opportunity to see the different landscapes and small towns and villages that were enroute to New York. We noticed the East Coast, founded and developed well over a century before the West, had homes and buildings much older and in different styles from the West.
Many of the Greek nationals in our unit lived in the New York area. They recommended hotels and restaurants and suggested the St. George Hotel in Brooklyn. It was an excellent choice. The St. George was one of the most prestigious hotels in the New York area. As in the Denver hotels, two of us registered and the rest of our group joined in. This must have been a Friday, because the next day we attended a Greek dance (horosperida) in Manhattan. In the afternoon while walking down Broadway, we discovered a matinee live show at one of the many theaters featuring the beautiful Lena Horne. There were only a handful of us in the audience and it was a special treat to have a close-up view of this outstanding and beautiful entertainer.
That evening we attended the horosperida that was jam packed. Would you believe one of the men who had been discharged at Camp Carson, of the aforementioned section eight fiascos, greeted me warmly; he was now a civilian. I was disgusted to see this guy who had bullshitted his way out of the army. I told him how appalled I was with his caper and to take a hike. I have often wondered if he made his millions in furs.
Unlike in Denver and Washington we did not find the New York Greeks as hospitable. We stayed at the dance for a short period and except for Perry, we left the dance and visited the exciting sights on Broadway. Next day was Sunday. We attended services at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Manhattan. After the liturgy we had lunch at a restaurant in the Rockaway section of New York; the owners, I believe their names were Fatseas, were friends of Nick Cominos" family, Patriotes from Kytheira. They treated us royally, and, with the exception of Nick, we ate our first lobster dinner.
We decided to cut our visit short in New York and return to Washington D.C. New York was too hectic and the people very aloof.
[Skip the navigation links: Jump to the Citation Guidelines.]
[Skip the citation guidelines: Jump to the Bottom of the Page.]
(This is the bottom of the page.)