Private Telemachos Loukaides Michael lived a short and tragic life. Coming to New York City from Cyprus, Michael was part of a boom that changed America’s attitudes toward immigrants, even helping to bring about a nationwide draft during World War II to “Americanize” newcomers. As a Private, Telemachos Michael fought on the Alaskan front against Japanese forces during World War II. Pvt. Michael’s identity as an immigrant was intertwined with his tragic fate. In perhaps the ultimate and ironic display of patriotism, Michael fought to his death for a country that considered immigrants like him to be un-American. 

Michael was born in Astromeritis, Cyprus on September 20, 1908. From a family of master tailors, Michael was one of five brothers. Michael lived first in London before journeying from Southampton to New York City in 1929. In one way he was lucky to get to America; just five years prior, a nativist U.S. quota system drastically reduced the number of visas available. The Cypriot settled in Woodside, Queens. A member of the Local 6 union, he was a room-service waiter at Manhattan’s Commodore Hotel. Nonetheless, the common belief that immigrants were not naturally assimilating encouraged their military conscription.

On December 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, America declared war. By early June, Japan seized the Aleutian islands of Attu and Kiska in Alaska, helping to form a defensive line in the Pacific that might force the U.S. to sign a peace treaty. Single Michael registered for the draft on October 16, 1940 and was enlisted on Governor’s Island on August 14, 1942. He was a 5’2”, 106 pound Private, neither a citizen nor high school-educated. He entered the Army’s 7th Division, 17th Infantry in September, 1942, stationed at California's training base Fort Ord. That division left to retake Attu on April 23, 1943. Shots were fired starting May 11, and Michael was hit at some time during the fighting and died at 34 on May 17th after receiving a transfusion. 
Pvt. Michael’s life and death are a powerful example of bravery and patriotism. He is remembered by his family in Cyprus, who, upon the author’s request online, provided their correspondence with American officials and key details of his story. Secretary of State Henry L. Stimson awarded the soldier a Purple Heart, noting that he “sacrificed his life in defense of his country.” Michael’s family received his belongings, including a damaged watch, the American flag used in Michael’s burial at Holtz Bay Cemetery in Attu (he was reinterred at the Sitka National Cemetery in Sitka, Alaska), and a five-thousand dollar life insurance settlement. Pvt. Michael never became an American citizen, but his heroism lives on.

World War 2 was one of the world's largest global conflicts. People from all over were sucked in to fight in the war, yet these people were mostly fighting for their own countries. Yet the United States was able to bring people from different social classes, ethnicities, and even different countries to fight their battles on American soil. A primary example of this is  Telemachos L Michael. He was born on September 20th, 1908 in Nicosia, Cyprus.  He was a Greek Orthodox man with brown hair and brown eyes and stood 5 foot tall He moved around a lot from Nicosia, Cyprus to the United Kingdom, London then the United States, and New York in 1929. He lived in New York at 37-75 63rd Street Woodside NY and worked at the Hotel Comma Before for 11 years before enlisting in the army in 1940. He was a part of the US Army and served as a private in the 17th Infantry Division. His training was short-lived as his division was almost immediately moved to Alaska to fight in the battle of Attu against the Japanese. The battle of Attu was the only battle of World War 2 that took place in the American homeland, on Alaska's Aleutian Islands.
 The Japanese took hold of the islands, took 40 people captive, and shipped them back to Japan to imprisonment camps where 40% of the captives died of starvation or maltreatment. On may 11th 1943 12,500 US soldiers were deployed to retake the islands among these men was Telemachos L Michael. The Americans and Japenese engaged in gorilla-style warfare along the islands. The island-to-island warfare even led to an Alaskan D-Day style sea-to-land invasion. The Japanese fought to almost their last man and committed suicide to protect their family's honor, as a surrender at the time was considered taboo. Both sides lost thousands of men in a complicated island-to-island conflict, and many heroes of these battles go unspoken. Telemachos L Michael earned a Purple Heart for his military sacrifice in the battle to retrieve the Aleutian Islands. Telemachos L Michael was a man who in theory would have had nothing to do with American conflicts and yet he was willing and ready to lay down his life to protect a land that wasn't his by birth but his home.

This headshot of Pvt. Telemachos Loukaides Michael was provided by Elpinicky Pericleous, Pvt. Michael's niece, at the request of Luke Kosner

Headshot of Pvt. Telemachos Loukaides Michael

TELEMACHOS L MICHAEL

Service

PVT

Resting Place

Mementos

Tributes

Word Cloud

undefined

Milestones

Mementos

Historical Documents

Veteran programs and services

More VA resources

Get VA updates

In crisis? Get help now

Contact us