P.A.H.H. logo

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

Office of Strategic Services (OSS)

Two Weeks Furlough

I was sworn into the OSS in September 1943. We were given a two-week furlough (leave) and ordered to report back to Camp Carson the last week of September. We were advised that we would be stationed at the OSS main camp, Area F, which was formerly the Congressional Country Club, in Bethesda, Maryland, a suburb of Washington DC.

Of course Perry, Alex, and I were very excited to return home, and not unlike at our departure, our parents, relatives, and friends met us at the Santa Fe station on 40th Street and San Pablo Avenue in Emeryville. I looked emaciated from my arduous training. I was 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighed 132 pounds, and had not yet reached my 19th birthday. After the war my family told me that they were in tears when I arrived home; they could not believe how terrible I looked. But I was in excellent shape and by the time I left for overseas two months later I weighed a solid 175 pounds with the same 29 inch waist.

Perry, Alex, and I were treated like royalty during our two-week stay in Oakland. We attended dinner parties every night, hosted not only by our parents and relatives but by many Oakland Greek families who invited us to their homes. Most of the invitations we accepted were at the family homes of contemporary daughters. We also accepted an invitation from Mr. and Mrs. Steve Georgiou who had three younger sons. The Georgious were very proud of us; many years later my youngest son, Jamie, married the Georgiou's granddaughter, Diane. Unfortunately neither the Mousalimas nor the Georgiou grandparents lived long enough to witness this beautiful union.

During our leave Perry, Alex, and I visited my relatives in Salinas. Tom Georgalos' home was Salinas. Nick H. Cominos was not able to make the trip home, having to finalize his transfer to the OSS at Camp Carson. Tom mentioned that his first sergeant, Theophanes Strimenos of Mobile, Alabama. (C Company of the Greek Battalion), had joined the OSS. I had seen this imposing 6 foot 4 inch top sergeant at Camp Carson but as a member of Company B, I was not under his command and had not met him. He would play a very important role in our unit.

The two weeks leave went by in a New York minute. I had a wonderful time visiting parents, relatives, and friends. I don't recall having misgivings about returning to Camp Carson, joining my buddies, and continuing my training with the OSS. Over a year later, in another departure from Oakland, this time a veteran of the European war, my attitude in returning to war was much different.

Riding the Rails to Washington DC

Perry, Alex, Tom Georgalos, and I boarded the Santa Fe train in Emeryville, an Oakland suburb, and returned to Camp Carson. We were prepared for our new adventure.

The more than 160 volunteers of the OSS bid goodbye to our Greek Battalion buddies who remained in Camp Carson and with few exceptions we never met again. Two members of the battalion were from distinguished Greek families. One, the son of the shipping magnate Goulandris, was transferred to the American merchant marine, and the other was John Tsouderos, the son of the prime minister of Greece, who joined the OSS.

We left Camp Carson October 4, 1943, were bussed to Denver and boarded a troop train for Washington DC. The volunteers' morale was extraordinary and it remained at a peak until we disbanded in Italy, November 1944. We were anxious to leave for Washington DC and join the mysterious Office of Strategic Services.

We had been told that we would receive first class treatment: excellent facilities, training, food, and travel accommodations, the latest and most sophisticated equipment and clothes. We were not disappointed. We boarded the troop train in Denver and were assigned to the elegant Pullman cars. It was like a 1930s movie. Porters made our beds each night, dining cars had white tablecloths with flowers on the tables, and we were served by Black waiters in white jackets. The food was superb.

To save space two men shared the lower berth in the Pullman and the fortunate ones had an upper berth by themselves. Perry got an upper berth and I shared a lower berth with Alex Phillips. En route the train stopped in North Platte, Nebraska. Servicemen had told us that this would be a highlight. The hospitality of North Platte was legendary. The citizens welcomed every troop train that passed through their town and showered the servicemen with coffee, food, cakes, and even kisses.

We arrived in Chicago mid-morning and were ushered to an excellent restaurant for breakfast/lunch. During my army travels we ate in many restaurants, and I have often wondered who booked the restaurants and hotels for the armed services, and if the people involved were given a kickback. It had to be a great benefit for the owners of the restaurants who had contracts with the armed services. Following our meal we marched (we never walked in the army) to another Chicago train station and left for Washington DC.

In the middle of the night, I vividly remember the train stopping on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, adjacent to the steel mills that were in full bloom. I looked out of my window and could see the fires from the mills and bright lights; the mills worked 24 hours a day for the duration. It was an awesome sight.

On the train to Washington DC the volunteers became acquainted with each other. We were from different companies in the Greek Battalion and this was our first chance to meet and fraternize with the men with whom we would eventually go behind the lines. This group that came from so many different areas of Greece and America bonded into a top-notch fighting machine, and our espirit de corps was unrivaled.

We arrived at Union Station in Washington DC in the evening of October 8, 1943, and were immediately bussed to Area F (Congressional Country Club) near Bethesda. October is a beautiful month in Maryland, and the Californians were impressed with the beauty of the fall season. So far we had not experienced severe weather in either Colorado or Maryland.



Helpful Links

[Skip the navigation links: Jump to the Citation Guidelines.]

Navigation Links


[Skip the citation guidelines: Jump to the Bottom of the Page.]

Citation Guidelines


(This is the bottom of the page.)