George Caridakis – Colonel, United States Marine Corps

From a contemporary press report:

George Caridakis, 75, a retired Marine Corps colonel who served in World War II, the Korean War and in Vietnam, died of leukemia April 11, 2003, at his home in Fairfax, Virginia.

Colonel Caridakis retired from the Marine Corps in 1979. During the Korean War, he participated in combat operations at the Chosin Reservoir. He was a former Washington area chapter president of the Chosin Few and a member of the national board of Men of Chosin.

In Vietnam, he helped plan for the redeployment and disengagement of U.S. forces.

He was born in Syracuse, New York, and had lived in the Washington area for 34 years. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a master’s degree in political science from Washington University in St. Louis and did graduate study in public administration at American University.

Colonel Caridakis had been a Boy Scout leader and had served on the National Capital Area Boy Scout Council.

Survivors include his wife of 53 years, Margaret Caridakis of Fairfax; four children, Frank, of Arlington, Tom, of Savage, George, of Fairfax, and Cathleen Hall of Oak Hill, Virginia; and a granddaughter.

CARIDAKIS, GEORGE, COL. USMC (Ret.) 

On April 11, 2003 of Fairfax, Virignia. Beloved husband of Margaret Caridakis; loving father of Frank, Thomas, and George A. Caridakis and Cathleen Hall; caring grandfather of Corinne Caridakis.

Funeral services will be held at Fort Myer Chapel, Arlington Cemetery on May 13, 2003 at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the charity of your choice.

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard