Gus Georgiou with the Cyprus Defense Attache Lt. Col. Andreas Andreou (L) and Greek Defense Attache Colonel Panagiotis Vlachopoulos (R)
WASHINGTON, DC, November 29, 2023 – Decorated, Cypriot-American veteran Constantinos Georgiou was honored with the 2023 Oxi Service Award on October 23 at the 13th Annual Oxi Service Awards at the National WWII Memorial in Washington, DC. The award was presented to Georgiou by Greek Defense Attache Colonel Panagiotis Vlachopoulos.
Constantinos Georgiou was born in Clairton, Pennsylvania and grew up in Cyprus until the age of 17. He left Cyprus in 1947 on the Saturnia, the same Italian vessel that transported him from the United States to Cyprus as a two-year-old. He became a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division and was stationed in Fort Benning, Georgia where received his high school diploma and sub-sequently applied to the Georgia Institute of Technology.
At the end of three-year commitment, he enlisted in the Korean War and was member of the Airborne Rangers, later renamed to the Green Berets, to implement the UN resolutions aimed at halting the North Korean invasion. Gus was honorably discharged from the army with the rank of Staff Sergeant and was awarded a Purple Heart for his service.
To see a video of this presentation, click here.
To see photos from the Oxi Service Awards, click here.
Last year, the Oxi Service Award was presented to George Poppas, the father of Commanding General of U.S. Army Forces Command Gen. Andrew Poppas. George was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Because of his European background, being a native Greek speaker with multiple other language skills, he was selected to conduct counter-intelligence operations against the Soviet Union blending among the displaced people in post-WWII Germany.
To see the Poppas presentation, click here.
