Greek / American Operational Group Office of Strategic Services (OSS)
Memoirs of World War 2

Interesting Experiences with the N.Y. Ladies

I would be remiss if I did not mention two interesting experiences that Perry and I encountered in New York. I should preface my stories and mention the respect the Greek-American youth had for their elders; secondly the differences of Greek Americans on the East Coast and in the Midwest compared to the West. Unlike in the East, Greeks in the western states were not clustered in neighborhoods as such, and they integrated into the so-called American mainstream much earlier than their Eastern contemporaries. Of course there were exceptions!

Back to my story. Perry had decided to stay at the horosperida where he met a Greek-American Army officer who invited him to his future in-laws home for a late supper. Perry accepted the invitation. Perry relating his experience told us that the family lived in one of the infamous railroad apartments on the second floor. The family also had a younger daughter and put tremendous pressure on Perry to stay in New York and get engaged to the young lady. Perry, not wanting to insult the family, was unable to say no, or use other choice words; he was in a predicament. He excused himself and went into the bathroom, opened the window and shimmied down two floors. He finally arrived at the St. George Hotel at dawn.

Over a year later, in the same situation, Tom Georgalos could not say no, and found himself engaged to a New York Greek-American girl on their first meeting. Living in those railroad apartments was stifling, and parents would encourage their daughters to try and escape those gloomy conditions. Arranged marriages (proxenies) were still common in the East, whereas in the West, proxenies were rare with the 2nd generation Greek-Americans.

My experience, though different from Perry's, also involved respect for elders. After leaving the Greek dance, I went to the famous Roseland Ballroom where I met a pretty Italian-American girl. We had a few dances and drinks and got along famously. We had a late snack and I hired a taxicab; the young lady lived in the Bronx. On the way to her home I put on my best moves, but all I could get from her was a few hugs and kisses. We arrived at her home, a brownstone; I told the cabby to wait, and I walked her up the steps to her front door. She told me that her folks would not allow her to have any guests. Whether or not it was the truth, I did not insist to continue our rendezvous. I bade her goodbye, never to see her again.

The cab driver was probably in his fifties, a contemporary of my parents. I was surprised when he asked me how long I had known the girl. When I told him that I had met her for the first time that evening, he went ballistic. He told me I should be ashamed of myself for taking advantage of the young girl. He kept preaching all the way to Brooklyn. Though I was angry, I kept silent and could not understand why he was so upset. Years later I wondered if he had a daughter who might have had a bad affair with a serviceman. Not unlike Perry, I also respected the older person.

What was interesting about these two experiences was that while we were in terrific physical shape and mentally prepared to go into combat after completing hours of hand-to-hand combat and knife skills training, this did not give us a license to insult or hurt anyone in the civilian sector, even though in both instances the people were out of line. We had the same perspective when we came home after combat duty. I get very upset when I hear that veterans, primarily Vietnam vets, who claim the government made them killers, use this for their defense when they commit violent crimes after their separation from the service.

In the same vein I was surprised how the draftees adjusted to military life; many had come from sheltered lives. In the Greek Battalion we were trained by old army noncoms who were career soldiers. They were excellent cadre, but I was surprised that very few volunteered for the OSS. One of them, a tough Oklahoman who joined our unit, cracked up on our troop ship over a small incident. My conclusion: it was important for the draftees to get the war over with and return to their families and homes.

The next morning we left New York for Washington D.C. Disappointed with the people in New York; we found D.C. a much friendlier place. One of the famous restaurants in D.C. was O'Donnell's Fish House near the White House. Tom Georgalos insisted that we try the raw oysters. Neither the Phillips brothers nor I had never eaten raw oysters. I reluctantly ordered the oysters and was hooked; to this day raw oysters are one of my favorite dishes. In my 31 months in the army and OSS, I had many new and different experiences not only in army camps and on the field but also in the civilian sector both in the States and overseas.

Washington D.C. was brimming with young single ladies. We visited nightclubs, bars, and restaurants. In some instances civilians would buy us drinks Most of us could not drink more than a couple drinks at a time. Seven-Up highball was the favorite drink of the young soldiers.