Helias Doundoulakis
Encyclopedia
Helias Doundoulakis is a Greek American
scientific innovator who patented the suspension system for the largest radio telescope
in the world, and served in the United States Army
as a spy
for the Office of Strategic Services
.
to Greek-immigrant parents. At the age of two, he and his family emigrated to Crete
, Greece, where he grew up in Archanes
, the site of the Minoan
excavation at Knossos
. While in his last year of high school, German paratroopers, the Fallschirmjäger
, invaded Crete on May 20, 1941, after most of Greece had already fallen under the Axis powers
.
The Battle of Crete
lasted for ten days, after which Helias and his brother George joined the Cretan resistance
. An underground organization was formed by George Doundoulakis, who recruited ex-military and Cretan civilians from the Heraklion
and Lasithi
regions of Crete, at the request of Special Operations Executive
(SOE) agent Christopher Montague Woodhouse.
Working closely with "Monty" Woodhouse, Thomas James Dunbabin
, and later Patrick Leigh Fermor
, the underground organization supplied key information to the British SOE http://books.google.com/books?id=HJEKAPFeJmQC&pg=PA190&dq=george+doundoulakis&hl=en&ei=9jfSTKn-DM6onQeZyND4Dw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CDcQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=george%20doundoulakis&f=false. Timely information obtained by this organization and delivered to Dunbabin led to the sinking of a large German convoy destined to re-supply the Afrika Korps
of Field Marshal
Erwin Rommel
in 1942.
After the war, George Doundoulakis was awarded the King's Medal for Courage in the Cause of Freedom
from Great Britain for his service, and Captain Thomas J. Dunbabin was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
. After a two-year involvement with the Cretan resistance, both Helias and George escaped to the south shore of Crete through the Psiloritis Mountains
after their betrayal to the German Gestapo
by a local Cretan, and were evacuated to Mersa Matruh, Egypt, on a British motor torpedo boat
. This was accomplished at the request of SOE agent Patrick Leigh Fermor
, who would later be known for his role in the kidnap of General Kreipe
from Crete.
Helias Doundoulakis was moved to an SOE villa in Heliopolis, Cairo
. The Office of Strategic Services
, or OSS, quickly learned of his two year involvement with the Cretan resistance, and sent Captain James Kelly, or James Kellis, to the SOE's Heliopolis villa, to recruit both Helias and George Doundoulakis http://books.google.com/books?id=HJEKAPFeJmQC&pg=PA190&dq=george+doundoulakis&hl=en&ei=IdF9TMu0EoTWngeZjcHBAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CEQQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=george%20doundoulakis&f=false. The brothers enlisted in the United States Army on September 16, 1943, and joined the newly-formed American spy service, the OSS.
, New York
, receiving a bachelor's degree in civil engineering
from the City College of New York
, and a master’s degree in structural engineering
from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn.
He worked for over thirty-five years as a professional engineer at Grumman Aerospace Corporation
and on many notable projects, including the MetLife Building
in New York City
, the Apollo Space Missions (such as the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM)), the F-14 Tomcat fighter jet
, and the Space Shuttle
. His crowning achievement is his patent for a radio telescope, used in the design for the largest of its kind at the NAIC Arecibo Observatory
, in Arecibo
, Puerto Rico
(see U.S. Patent Office, Arecibo Observatory). He worked on this project with his brother, George Doundoulakis, and long-time friend and business partner William J. Casey
http://books.google.com/books?id=pYAnBeqNmgoC&q=george+doundoulakis&dq=george+doundoulakis&hl=en&ei=8eR9TIjeK8ibnAei25H4AQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CFcQ6AEwCQ, who was appointed OSS
chief for Europe by OSS Director, General William J. Donovan.
Greek American
Greek Americans are Americans of Greek descent also described as Hellenic descent. According to the 2007 U.S. Census Bureau estimation, there were 1,380,088 people of Greek ancestry in the United States, while the State Department mentions that around 3,000,000 Americans claim to be of Greek descent...
scientific innovator who patented the suspension system for the largest radio telescope
Radio telescope
A radio telescope is a form of directional radio antenna used in radio astronomy. The same types of antennas are also used in tracking and collecting data from satellites and space probes...
in the world, and served in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
as a spy
SPY
SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...
for the Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
.
War years
Doundoulakis was born in Canton, OhioCanton, Ohio
Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...
to Greek-immigrant parents. At the age of two, he and his family emigrated to Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
, Greece, where he grew up in Archanes
Archanes
Archanes is a former municipality in the Heraklion peripheral unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Archanes-Asterousia, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 4,548 . It is also the archaeological site of an ancient Minoan settlement in...
, the site of the Minoan
Minoan civilization
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that arose on the island of Crete and flourished from approximately the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC. It was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of the British archaeologist Arthur Evans...
excavation at Knossos
Knossos
Knossos , also known as Labyrinth, or Knossos Palace, is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and probably the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and culture. The palace appears as a maze of workrooms, living spaces, and store rooms close to a central square...
. While in his last year of high school, German paratroopers, the Fallschirmjäger
Fallschirmjäger
are German paratroopers. Together with the Gebirgsjäger they are perceived as the elite infantry units of the German Army....
, invaded Crete on May 20, 1941, after most of Greece had already fallen under the Axis powers
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
.
The Battle of Crete
Battle of Crete
The Battle of Crete was a battle during World War II on the Greek island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany launched an airborne invasion of Crete under the code-name Unternehmen Merkur...
lasted for ten days, after which Helias and his brother George joined the Cretan resistance
Cretan resistance
The Cretan resistance was a resistance movement against Nazi Germany by the residents of the Greek island of Crete during World War II. Part of the larger Greek Resistance, it lasted from May 20, 1941, when the German Wehrmacht invaded the island in the Battle of Crete, until the fall of 1945 when...
. An underground organization was formed by George Doundoulakis, who recruited ex-military and Cretan civilians from the Heraklion
Heraklion
Heraklion, or Heraclion is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete, Greece. It is the 4th largest city in Greece....
and Lasithi
Lasithi
Lasithi is the easternmost regional unit on the island of Crete, to the east of Heraklion. Its capital is Agios Nikolaos, the other major towns being Ierapetra, Sitia and Neapoli. The mountains include the Dikte to the west and the Sitia Mountains to the east...
regions of Crete, at the request of Special Operations Executive
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
(SOE) agent Christopher Montague Woodhouse.
Working closely with "Monty" Woodhouse, Thomas James Dunbabin
Thomas James Dunbabin
Thomas James Dunbabin DSO , was an Australian classicist scholar and archaeologist of Tasmanian origin. His father was , a distinguished journalist. Dunbabin studied at the University of Sydney and then moved to Corpus Christi College, Oxford...
, and later Patrick Leigh Fermor
Patrick Leigh Fermor
Sir Patrick "Paddy" Michael Leigh Fermor, DSO, OBE was a British author, scholar and soldier, who played a prominent role behind the lines in the Cretan resistance during World War II. He was widely regarded as "Britain's greatest living travel writer", with books including his classic A Time of...
, the underground organization supplied key information to the British SOE http://books.google.com/books?id=HJEKAPFeJmQC&pg=PA190&dq=george+doundoulakis&hl=en&ei=9jfSTKn-DM6onQeZyND4Dw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CDcQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=george%20doundoulakis&f=false. Timely information obtained by this organization and delivered to Dunbabin led to the sinking of a large German convoy destined to re-supply the Afrika Korps
Afrika Korps
The German Africa Corps , or the Afrika Korps as it was popularly called, was the German expeditionary force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II...
of Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
in 1942.
After the war, George Doundoulakis was awarded the King's Medal for Courage in the Cause of Freedom
King's Medal for Courage in the Cause of Freedom
The King's Medal for Courage in the Cause of Freedom is a British medal instituted on 23 August 1945 to reward those, mainly foreigners, who during the Second World War with the danger of life had contributed to helping British military personnel to escape the enemy and escape from occupied areas...
from Great Britain for his service, and Captain Thomas J. Dunbabin was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
. After a two-year involvement with the Cretan resistance, both Helias and George escaped to the south shore of Crete through the Psiloritis Mountains
Psiloritis Mountains
The Psiloritis Mountains is a landform in southern Crete, an island of Greece. These mountains are alternatively termed the Psiloriti Range. Mount Ida is a prominent peak within the Psiloriti Range. The ancient Minoan palace of Phaistos is aligned toward a prominent saddle area of the Psiloriti...
after their betrayal to the German Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
by a local Cretan, and were evacuated to Mersa Matruh, Egypt, on a British motor torpedo boat
Motor Torpedo Boat
Motor Torpedo Boat was the name given to fast torpedo boats by the Royal Navy, and the Royal Canadian Navy.The capitalised term is generally used for the Royal Navy boats and abbreviated to "MTB"...
. This was accomplished at the request of SOE agent Patrick Leigh Fermor
Patrick Leigh Fermor
Sir Patrick "Paddy" Michael Leigh Fermor, DSO, OBE was a British author, scholar and soldier, who played a prominent role behind the lines in the Cretan resistance during World War II. He was widely regarded as "Britain's greatest living travel writer", with books including his classic A Time of...
, who would later be known for his role in the kidnap of General Kreipe
Kidnap of General Kreipe
The Kidnap of General Kreipe was a Second World War operation by the Special Operations Executive, an organisation of the United Kingdom. The mission took place on the German occupied island of Crete in May 1944....
from Crete.
Helias Doundoulakis was moved to an SOE villa in Heliopolis, Cairo
Heliopolis (Cairo Suburb)
Modern Heliopolis is a district in Cairo, Egypt. The city was established in 1905 by the Heliopolis Oasis Company, headed by the Belgian industrialist Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Empain, as well as Boghos Nubar, son of the Egyptian Prime Minister Nubar Pasha.-History:The Baron Empain, a well known...
. The Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
, or OSS, quickly learned of his two year involvement with the Cretan resistance, and sent Captain James Kelly, or James Kellis, to the SOE's Heliopolis villa, to recruit both Helias and George Doundoulakis http://books.google.com/books?id=HJEKAPFeJmQC&pg=PA190&dq=george+doundoulakis&hl=en&ei=IdF9TMu0EoTWngeZjcHBAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CEQQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=george%20doundoulakis&f=false. The brothers enlisted in the United States Army on September 16, 1943, and joined the newly-formed American spy service, the OSS.
Post-war years
Upon completion of his duties in the U.S. Army, Helias Doundoulakis settled in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, receiving a bachelor's degree in civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
from the City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
, and a master’s degree in structural engineering
Structural engineering
Structural engineering is a field of engineering dealing with the analysis and design of structures that support or resist loads. Structural engineering is usually considered a specialty within civil engineering, but it can also be studied in its own right....
from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn.
He worked for over thirty-five years as a professional engineer at Grumman Aerospace Corporation
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American global aerospace and defense technology company formed by the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company was the fourth-largest defense contractor in the world as of 2010, and the largest builder of naval vessels. Northrop Grumman employs over...
and on many notable projects, including the MetLife Building
MetLife Building
The MetLife Building, originally called the Pan Am Building, is a skyscraper located at 200 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.-History:...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the Apollo Space Missions (such as the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM)), the F-14 Tomcat fighter jet
F-14 Tomcat
The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental program following the collapse of the F-111B project...
, and the Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
. His crowning achievement is his patent for a radio telescope, used in the design for the largest of its kind at the NAIC Arecibo Observatory
Arecibo Observatory
The Arecibo Observatory is a radio telescope near the city of Arecibo in Puerto Rico. It is operated by SRI International under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation...
, in Arecibo
Arecibo
Arecibo may refer to:*Arecibo, Puerto Rico, a municipality located by the Atlantic Ocean*Arecibo Observatory, a very sensitive radio telescope located approximately south-southwest from the city of Arecibo...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
(see U.S. Patent Office, Arecibo Observatory). He worked on this project with his brother, George Doundoulakis, and long-time friend and business partner William J. Casey
William J. Casey
William Joseph Casey was the Director of Central Intelligence from 1981 to 1987. In this capacity he oversaw the entire United States Intelligence Community and personally directed the Central Intelligence Agency ....
http://books.google.com/books?id=pYAnBeqNmgoC&q=george+doundoulakis&dq=george+doundoulakis&hl=en&ei=8eR9TIjeK8ibnAei25H4AQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CFcQ6AEwCQ, who was appointed OSS
OSS
-Science and technology:* Open-source software* Open Sound System, a standard interface for making and capturing sound in Unix operating systems* Open Search Server, search engine software...
chief for Europe by OSS Director, General William J. Donovan.
External links
- I Was Trained to be A Spy by Helias Doudndoulakis
- Crete: The Battle and the Resistance, by Antony Beevor
- The Nazi Occupation of Crete 1941-1945, by G.C Kiriakopoulos
- Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA, 1981-1987, by Bob Woodward
- OSS: The Secret History of America's First Central Intelligence Agency By Richard Harris Smith
- Casey: from the OSS to the CIA by Joseph Persico
- The OSS Society
- Arecibo Observatory