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Spiro Cappony in Greece [March 1944]

Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Navy
  • Unit of Service: Office of Strategic Services (OSS)
  • Location of Service: Great Lakes, Illinois; Virginia; Oran; Algeria; Turkey; Greece; Palestine
  • Highest Rank: Petty Officer First Class
  • Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/3859

View full service history

"I had a difficult time saying something and not saying something." (Audio Interview, 42:30)

It's not every recruit who gets interviewed for special service in the military by a Hollywood actor, but Spiro Cappony can claim that Sterling Hayden not only chatted him up for a position in the OSS but actually bunked with him during training exercises. The two men parted ways once they got abroad, Hayden to Italy and Yugoslavia, and Cappony to Turkey and Greece. The Turks were aiding Germany with ore shipments, and it was the job of OSS operatives like Cappony, who spoke fluent Greek, to enlist guerrilla fighters to prevent those shipments. Cappony had to watch his back; some of his supposed Greek allies might be collaborators.

Spiro George Cappony Collection
Interview / Recording

More Resources

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[ Photo Album ]
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[ Citation for Bronze Star Medal [May 1944] ]
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[ Copy of passport pages from 1944 ]
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[ First draft of memo to Captain James Kellis describing operations in which Cappony participated [11/1944] ]
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[ Copy of Cappony's Turkish passport from 1944 ]
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[ Certificate presented to Cappony by Senator Richard Lugar's office ]

Show more resources (8)

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[ Report of the Evros Mission and Final Report of the Evros Mission by Captain G. L. Kellis, Air Corps, from the OSS archives ]
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[ Letter from E. J. Athens, Lt. (jg) USNR, certifying that Cappony was wounded in action on August 2, 1944 [12/15/1944] ]
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[ Letter from Lt. (jg) E. J. Athens to Major Charles J. Eubank [1/26/1945] ]
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[ Letter from Major Charles J. Eubank to Naval Command [2/5/1945] ]
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[ Letter from the CIA Personnel Chief to Spiro Cappony, inviting him to fill out an application [3/1/1948] ]
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[ Letter to Mrs. Stella Cappony from Percy S. Wood, Lt. USNR [8/24/1944] ]
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[ Email from Spiro Cappony to unidentified recipients [2/29/2004] ]
View 2 images in sequence.
[ Letter with photograph from Thomas M. Carlin, Colonel, U.S. Army [1/29/1997] ]

About this Item

Title

  • Spiro George Cappony Collection

Names

  • Suzanne Ventura
  • Sanders, Timothy
  • Lugar, Richard
  • U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar
  • Cappony, Spiro George
  • National Court Reporters Association (NCRA)

State of Birth

  • IN

Home State

  • IN

Headings

  • -  Cappony, Spiro George
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Navy.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Navy
    • Unit of Service: Office of Strategic Services (OSS)
    • Location of Service: Great Lakes, Illinois; Virginia; Oran; Algeria; Turkey; Greece; Palestine
    • Highest Rank: Petty Officer First Class
    • Dates of Service: 1942-1945
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Manuscript: Mixed (Multiple types of manuscripts) [4 items] -- Mixed (handwritten and typewritten documents) (collected 1946 - 1997)
  • Audio: CD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 07/23/2002)
  • Manuscript: Clippings [3 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1946 - 2004)
  • Photograph: Mixed (Multiple types of photographs) [87 items] -- Photograph (collected 1943 - 1944, 2005)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 07/23/2002)
  • Manuscript: Correspondence [6 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1944 - 2004)
  • Manuscript: Military papers (orders, personnel/201 files, etc) [6 items] -- Typewritten document (collected 1944 - 2002)
  • Manuscript: Periodicals [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 2004)
  • Audio: Audio Cassette [1 item] -- Radio broadcast (collected 03/08/2004)
  • Video: CD [0 item] -- Reference copy (collected 11/07/2007)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 10/07/2008)
  • Manuscript: Biographical information [1 item] -- Typewritten document (collected 11/2012)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/3859

Cite as

  • Spiro George Cappony Collection (AFC/2001/001/3859), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/[VHP collection]), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Suzanne Ventura, Timothy Sanders, Richard Lugar, U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar, Spiro George Cappony, and National Court Reporters Association. Spiro George Cappony Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.03859/.

APA citation style:

Suzanne Ventura, Sanders, T., Lugar, R., U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar, Cappony, S. G. & National Court Reporters Association. (1942) Spiro George Cappony Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.03859/.

MLA citation style:

Suzanne Ventura, et al. Spiro George Cappony Collection. 1942. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.03859/>.