Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Navy Veteran Spiro George Cappony. Spiro served during World War II from 1942 to 1945.
In an interview with the Veteran’s History Project, Spiro discusses how he was selected for the Office of Strategic Services because of his Greek language skills. He found himself working with movie star Sterling Hayden as part of his special intelligence team.
Spiro was sent to Istanbul and partook in several undercover intelligence operations to discover and stop Turkey’s ore shipments to Germany. Spiro was then sent to Greece and worked with Greek guerilla fighters to fight against the Nazis. During his time in Greece, Spiro convinced the Greeks to fight the Germans and destroy critical bridges in exchange for weapons.
Spiro was deployed to other areas in Eastern Europe, including Palestine and Bulgaria. He took part in many critical missions and operation, such as in Bulgaria, when Spiro discovered letters from an Axis spy in a British Embassy.
After the war, Spiro was not allowed to talk about many of the missions that he’d taken part in of to protect American interests in Eastern Europe. Spiro received a Bronze Star for his service.
Spiro passed away on Nov. 8, 2012.
We honor his service.
Nominate a Veteran for #VeteranOfTheDay
Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? You’re in luck! VA’s #VeteranOfTheDay social media feature is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.
It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. All it takes is an email to newmedia@va.gov with as much information as you can put together, along with some good photos. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission.
Veterans History Project
This #VeteranOfTheDay profile was created with interviews submitted to the Veterans History Project. The project collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war Veterans so that future generations may hear directly from Veterans and better understand the realities of war. Find out more at http://www.loc.gov/vets/.
Graphic By Lilian Vo: Lilian Vo is an undergraduate senior at George Mason University studying Global Affairs and Intelligence Analysis.
Topics in this story
More Stories
In honor of National Park Service's National Park Week, this week's Honoring Veterans spotlight honors the service of Army Veteran Michael Trevino, who today works as a facility manager at Reconstruction Era National Historical Park.
This week’s Honoring Veterans Spotlight honors the service of Navy Veteran Ken Mattingly, who served as a pilot during the 1950s and later became an astronaut during the Apollo missions.
This week’s Honoring Veterans Spotlight honors the service of Air Force Veteran Gavino Cavazos, who served from 1949 to 1973 during both the Korean and Vietnam Wars.