Spyros A. Daoussis joined the Greek Navy in 1932 and served in the Greek Merchant Marine from 1934 to 1942. With the onset of WWII, during convoy duties, he survived numerous attacks and three ship sinkings. Following his rescue from a sinking by a German U-boat in 1942, he joined the United States Merchant Marines. On December 30th 1943 Spyros joined the United States Navy and in May of 1944, he became a US citizen. Spyros served as a Machinist’s Mate on the USS Hadley. On May 11, 1945, the Hadley and its escort ships came under heavy fire off the coast of Okinawa. The crew shot down 23 planes, including 3 kamikaze planes that crashed into the Hadley, in 95 minutes, an all-time gunnery record for a single engagement. The Hadley was critically damaged and Spyros was severely injured with shrapnel to his head and third degree burns over most of his body. Shipmates expected he would die, yet Spyros survived and was awarded a Purple Heart. Spyros made the United States his permanent home, studied in Los Angeles, became a Mechanical Engineer, and worked for the US government until he retired. Spyros’s younger brother, Dionissios, enlisted in the Greek Army in 1939 and served at the Albanian border when Greek forces repelled the Italian invasion attempt following Oxi Day. He was fatally wounded in action and died on November 8, 1940 at the age of 22.