George Papageorgiou (Papageorge) was born on November 19, 1906 in Chicago, Illinois. His father was Konstantinos Papageorgiou (1856-1919) and his mother was Anna Hronis (1882-1962). In 1885, at the age of 29, Konstantinos immigrated to the United States from Greece. He became a naturalized citizen. Later, Anna Hronis who was born in 1882 in Greece came to the United States. They were both living in Chicago, and got married in 1904. She was 26 years younger than Konstantinos. Including George, their first four children were born in Chicago. In 1912, after living in the United States for 27 uninterrupted years, Konstantinos, took his family back to Greece where he and Anna had four more children. Two of these children died as infants. In 1919, Konstantinos died. George continued to reside in Greece with his mother until 1924 when, at the age of 18, he returned to the United States. He arrived in New York City on November 9, 1924 on the ship, Edison. Since he was born in the country, he was already a citizen of the United States. Some of his siblings had previously moved from Greece and settled the Ithaca-Elmira section of Upstate New York. George moved to the Oneonta-Norwich area and worked in restaurants and candy shops throughout the region. The 1933-1935 Oneonta City directories show that he was employed as a soda clerk at the Laskaris’ confectionery at 183 Main Street, Oneonta, a very popular gathering spot for young people. According to his World War II Draft Card, he was working in the Imperial Tea Room, at 25 South Broad Street, Norwich, New York in 1940.

George was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942 and served in the 77th Division, 305th Infantry Regiment, Company K. The 77th was reactivated in March, 1942 and two years later in March 1944 it went overseas. Initially it went to Hawaii to continue training in amphibious and jungle warfare. In July 1944 it participated in the amphibious assault on Guam. After the fall of Guam, the 77th sailed for New Caledonia but was redirected to Leyte in the Philippine Islands. The 305th along with the 306th and 307th Regiments landed outside of Deposito, Leyte on November 27, 1944 and proceeded up the coast of Ormoc Bay astride Highway 2 to the city of Ormoc. Highway 2 was ten feet wide and composed of sand and gravel. In general the areas adjacent to the road were wet lowlands and paddy fields, forcing any advancing military force into the confined space of the road. It took the 305th as well as the other regiments four days to reach Ormoc, a distance of six miles. Once in Ormac the 77th was at the southern entrance of the Ormoc Valley. It marched north to Valencia. According to documents in George’s Individual Deceased Personnel File he is killed near Palompon on December 27, 1944. He was 38 years old. His body was brought home on September 2, 1948 and buried at the Fairview Cemetery, Fort Allegany, Pennsylvaina, near where his sister Nicolette lived.

If you notice anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute to it, please contact Jim Greenberg at nez13820@gmail.com

Sources:

Cannon, M. Hamlin. “Leyte: The Return to the Philippines” United States Army in World War II: The War in the Pacific. Government Printing Office: Washington D.C. 1954 

National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Individual Deceased Personnel File for Pfc. George Papageorgiou, 32-255-349, Southwest Pacific Area.

National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; WWII Draft Registration Cards for New York State, 10/16/1940 - 03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/303807662:2238?tid=&pid=&queryId=8cc24243402fdf32bab952716e9a56e5&_phsrc=NtK17915&_phstart=successSource  (accessed January 24, 2023)

National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland, USA; Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, 1938-1946; NAID: 1263923; Record Group Title: Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1789-ca. 2007; Record Group: 64; Box Number: 04872; Reel: 151 https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/40906:8939?tid=&pid=&queryId=8cc24243402fdf32bab952716e9a56e5&_phsrc=NtK17917&_phstart=successSource (accessed January 23, 2023)

Ancestry.com. U.S., Find a Grave™ Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/22152132:60525?tid=&pid=&queryId=4c66f2b4094d7cce9e8df2eb7318bc39&_phsrc=NtK18013&_phstart=successSource  (accessed January 23, 2023)

Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/361852870:2469 (accessed January 24, 2023)

Supporting Files