The AHEPAN Spring 2021 - 12

the past. On several occasions, I would go to lunch with him
at the University Club. There, he would hold court with several members talking of days gone by. During World War II,
Brother George was a Major in the U. S. Army with the OSS
branch. He was stationed in the White House, working for his
close personal friend, and Brother Ahepan, President Franklin
D. Roosevelt (Delphi Chapter 25, Manhattan, N.Y. since 1931).
Brother Vournas worked diligently to attract and recruit members of our Junior Order, the Sons of Pericles, into the military
in key positions. Brother George found a wealth of individuals
who could serve as dual (Greek/English) speaking members of
the 122nd in coordination with Capt. Hamilton (Sterling Hayden),
including Major Peter Clainos, who was one of the founding
members of the Sons of Pericles and a West Point graduate.
Hence, the Greek Battalion was born.

Above: Spiro Cappony (center) with Greek partisan bodyguards
Harold (left) and Gus (right).
Below: Spiro Cappony, Alex Georgiadis, Jim Kellis, Mike Angelos, with
children from Dayia, a liberated Greek village.

THE AHEPAN · Spring 2021

Another significant Sons of Pericles member, who eventually became a life-long Ahepan, was Brother Spiro Cappony.
Spiro was born in Gary, Indiana, and was " inducted " into the
OSS by Brother Vournas. Cappony represented the U. S. Navy
in this special OSS group. AHEPA interviewed Cappony in
2000 during the AHEPA Biennial Banquet themed " Salute to
Veterans. " He detailed how during his training, he bunked with
Capt. Hamilton (Hayden) and never knew in the beginning that
he was a movie actor. Cappony and Capt. Hamilton had a great
friendship and trained together in preparation to be placed
behind enemy lines in the Balkans. After three months of
training together on explosives, stealth and many more covert
operations, they parted ways, but not before they worked out a
cypher code for the Greek Battalion.
On several occasions, and at random times during the war,
the actual " secret " coded messages were sent between their
headquarters on their field of operation and Washington by
using a scrambled AHEPA Constitution for the code book. The
AHEPA Constitution! What a wonderful honor, and what a
great way to share our history with the members active in service to their country.
All Sons and Ahepans who were in the OSS at time could
use the AHEPA Constitution to send secret coded messages
- all the while using our materials to decode and exchange
information.
Brother Cappony served with distinction and honor, being
wounded on more than one occasion. Many of the special missions were not even part of a documented action, which would
eliminate them from being singled out for gallantry. Spiro's service to our country garnered him a Bronze Star, Presidential
Unit Citations, and many more accolades. Several books
have been written about the covert operations from firsthand
accounts and perhaps one day we can make a movie about the
heroes who were drafted straight out of the AHEPA.
AHEPA did so much for the war effort. We sent our members to serve, lost many, but all were heroes. AHEPA sold $400
million in World War II Bonds, earning designation as a U.S.
Department of Treasury Official Issuing Agent, which bought
planes, tanks, bullets and materials to keep our soliders ready.
We worked to send food, clothes and money to our families in
Greece. We worked as a nation to save the world from Fascism.
The Hellenic spirit of freedom and democracy, which was born
in ancient Greece, was at the heart of why the war had to be
fought, and AHEPA helped. For years, these stories were kept
secret and there may be no written documents available for us
to see, but the stories shared by more than one member of the

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The AHEPAN Spring 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The AHEPAN Spring 2021