Helias Doundoulakis
Helias "Louis" Doundoulakis | |
---|---|
Born | Helias James Doundoulakis 12 July 1923 Canton, Ohio, US |
Died | Freeport, N.Y. | 29 February 2016 (aged 92)
Occupation | Civil engineer, author, and soldier |
Nationality | American |
Genre | Memoirs |
Notable works | I was Trained to be a Spy — Books I and II, My Unique Lifetime Association with Patrick Leigh Fermor, Trained to be an OSS Spy, The Arecibo Antenna |
Notable awards | Distinguished Service Award by the OSS Society, 2015 |
Spouse | Rita "Arete" Gianoplus |
Helias Doundoulakis (July 12, 1923 – February 29, 2016) was a
Early years
Helias Doundoulakis was born in
World War II
The
George's organization was betrayed to the
Office of Strategic Services (OSS)
The OSS was eventually informed of the Doundoulakis brothers' involvement with the SOE from Leigh Fermor. It dispatched OSS Captain James Kellis
Post-war
Helias Doundoulakis settled in
Emery Roth
Doundoulakis worked on the design of the
Grumman Aerospace
Doundoulakis was employed at
Arecibo Radio Telescope
Doundoulakis patented the unique suspension system for a radio telescope used in the design for the largest of its kind at the time, the Arecibo Observatory, Puerto Rico.[14][15][16] He worked on this project with guidance from his brother, George Doundoulakis, head of research at the General Bronze Corporation, and who had initiated this novel idea for Arecibo's suspension system.[15] Collaborating with long-time friends and business partners William J. Casey[17]: 101, 107–108, 166–67, 513 and Constantine Michalos — both assignees on the patent — Helias Doundoulakis was granted a U.S. patent on September 13, 1966 for designing the antenna's suspension system.[18] During WWII, Casey was appointed head of the OSS' Secret Intelligence branch for Europe.[17]: 68 After the war, he held executive posts under President Nixon, including Securities and Exchange Commission chief. George Doundoulakis testified on Casey's behalf at his Senate confirmation hearings.[19] Eventually, Casey was put in charge of the Central Intelligence Agency under President Reagan.
Hurricane Maria, though wreaking havoc on Puerto Rico's electrical grid, caused only minor damage to the Arecibo Observatory. The suspension system remained intact.[20]
After the observatory was damaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017, it was also affected by earthquakes in 2019 and 2020. Two cable breaks, one in August 2020 and a second in November 2020, threatened the structural integrity of the support structure for the suspended platform and damaged the dish. Due to uncertainty over the remaining strength of the other cables supporting the suspended structure, and the risk of collapse due to further failures making repairs dangerous, the NSF announced on November 19, 2020 that it would decommission and dismantle the telescope.[21][22] Before it could be decommissioned, several of the remaining support cables suffered a critical failure and the support structure, antenna, and dome assembly all fell into the dish at 7:55 a.m. local time on December 1, 2020, destroying the telescope.[23][24]
Death and funeral
Helias Doundoulakis died on February 29, 2016. He was buried with military honors next to his brother George in Greenfield Cemetery, Uniondale, New York.[25]
Awards
- 2015 – Helias and George Doundoulakis were jointly awarded the OSS Society’s Distinguished Service Award at the annual Donovan Award Dinner honoring Ambassador Hugh Montgomery in Washington, DC.[26][27]
- 2008 – OSS Society, May and November, Meritorious Service Award, by the Greek Government and OSS Society, Astoria, NY
- 1991 – PAA, Pancretan Association of America Distinguished Service Award, 50th Anniversary of Battle of Crete, Astoria, NY
Works
- The Arecibo Antenna — The Truth Revealed: A Primer for Designing the World's Greatest Radio Telescope, and a Memoir of William J. Casey, Constantine Michalos, and George Doundoulakis, 2022 (posthumously)
- My Unique Lifetime Association with Patrick Leigh Fermor, 2015
- Trained to be an OSS Spy, 2014
- I was Trained to be a Spy – Book II, 2012
- I was Trained to be a Spy, 2008
- Anamnisis (Greek: Αναμνήσεις), 2004
Films
Doundoulakis portrayed himself in the 2014 History Canada 2-hr. documentary, "Camp X" and in the Smithsonian Channel 1-hr. documentary, "World War II Spy School."[28][29]
References
- ^ ISBN 9780813320809. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
- ^ ISBN 9780275952778. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
- ^ Ogden, Alan. Sons of Odysseus: SOE Heroes in Greece, Ch. 19, Bene Factum Publishing Ltd, 2013
- ^ ISBN 9781499059830. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
- ^ Leigh Fermor, P: Abducting a General: The Kreipe Operation in Crete, New York Review Books, 2015.
- ^ Cooper, A.: Patrick Leigh Fermor: An Adventure, Ch. 9 "Setting the trap" p. 166, John Murray, 2012.
- ^ Smith, R: OSS: The Secret History of America's First Central Intelligence Agency, p. 258, The Lyons Press, 2005.
- ^ "VIDEO: How to Lie for Your Life from World War II Spy School | Smithsonian Channel". smithsonianchannel.com. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
- ^ "Secret Intelligence". U.S. Army Special Operations Command. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
- ^ Whiteclay Chambers II, J: OSS Training in the National Parks and Service Abroad in World War II, Chapter 8, Mediterranean and European Theaters, p. 297, U.S. National Park Service, Washington, D.C.
- ^ "Special Operations". U.S. Army Special Operations Command. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
- ^ "Morale Operations". U.S. Army Special Operations Command. Archived from the original on December 24, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
- )
- ^ U.S. Patent Office
- ^ ISBN 978-94-007-5360-0
- ^ "Arecibo Observatory". NAIC. Archived from the original on 8 May 2006. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
- ^ ISBN 9780670823420. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
- ^ US 3273156, Doundoulakis, Helias, "Radio telescope having a scanning feed supported by a cable suspension over a stationary reflector", issued 1966
- ^ "The Nomination of William J. Casey", Securities Industry Study: Hearing[s], Ninety-second Congress, First [-second] Session, 9 (1), Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office: 744, 1970
- ^ Scott Neuman (September 25, 2017). "Morning Edition". America. Morning Edition. 2:41 minutes in. NPR. Puerto Rico's Arecibo Radio Telescope Suffers Hurricane Damage.
- ^ Clery, Daniel (November 19, 2020). "Famed Arecibo telescope, on the brink of collapse, will be dismantled". Science | AAAS. Archived from the original on November 19, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
- PMID 33214727.
- ^ "Giant Arecibo radio telescope collapses in Puerto Rico". The Guardian. Associated Press. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
- ^ Coto, DÁNICA (December 1, 2020). "Huge Puerto Rico radio telescope, already damaged, collapses". Associated Press. Retrieved December 1, 2020 – via Yahoo!.
- ^ "Helias Doundoulakis 1923–2016". New York Times. March 8, 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
- ^ Lamothe, Dan (November 9, 2015), "Spy party: Tuxedos, martinis and some of the greatest heroes of World War II", The Washington Post
- ^ Amb. Hugh Montgomery, Frank Gleason, Peter Ortiz, Ernest Hemingway (2015). Distinguished Service Award Presentation (video). Washington, DC: OSS Society.
- ^ William J. Donovan, William Fairbairn, William Stephenson, Frank Gleason, Guy D'Artois, Helias Doundoulakis (2014). Camp X (Film). USA, Canada: YAP Films. Archived from the original on 2018-05-11. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
- ^ William J. Donovan, William Fairbairn, William Stephenson, Frank Gleason, Guy D'Artois, Helias Doundoulakis (2014). World War II Spy School (Film). USA, Canada: YAP Films.
External links
Media related to Helias Doundoulakis at Wikimedia Commons
- The 11th Day: Crete 1941 Archived 2013-10-07 at the Wayback Machine
- Benaki Museum acquisition of Leigh Fermor's home in Kardamyli, Mani, Greece
- Doundoulakis, H., Gafni, G. 2015. My Unique Lifetime Association with Patrick Leigh Fermor
- Gaffney, F. Center for Security Policy — 5 Great American Intelligence Heroes Honored at DC Dinner
- Harris, S. The Daily Beast — Inside the Party for America’s Finest Spies
- Lamothe, D., 2014. The Washington Post — Spy party: Tuxedos, martinis and some of the greatest heroes of World War II
- Leigh Fermor, Patrick The Patrick Leigh Fermor Society Archived 2018-11-16 at the Wayback Machine
- OSS Society
- OSS Society Distinguished Service Award 2015
- OSS: The Secret History of America's First Central Intelligence Agency By Richard Harris Smith
- Persico, J. Casey: from the OSS to the CIA
- Smithsonian Channel, World War II Spy School
- Vassos, John, Maj.: Chief Training Officer for the Middle East Theatre for the OSS' "Spy School," 1944-1945
- Vassos, John, Maj.: "The Training of Agent and Radio Operator Middle East Theater, circa 1940"
- Woodward, R. Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA, 1981-1987