Soft launch: Soldier biographies and research notes vary in completeness. Prefer class-roster, NARA, newspapers, and other cited sources for contested facts — treat Research notes as leads, not settled history. Anyone can correct a page; contact us with questions.
Chavchavadze, David (11092357): Difference between revisions
Enrich from Wikipedia: David Chavchavadze |
Enrich from Wikipedia: David Chavchavadze |
||
| Line 27: | Line 27: | ||
|years_of_service=1943-1945 | |years_of_service=1943-1945 | ||
|battles=WWII | |battles=WWII | ||
|known_for=CIA Officer, author | |||
}} | }} | ||
| Line 35: | Line 36: | ||
== Biography == | == Biography == | ||
It's a story that takes place in Berlin, the spy capital of the world in the 1950's, before the construction of the Berlin Wall about the greatest espionage operation of the Cold War. My wife very well knows my interest in non-fiction books; especially those related to WWII in general, and the Ritchie Boys in particular. Naturally, I was pleasantly surprised when she got me this book over the holidays. | Chavchavadze was born in London to Prince Paul Chavchavadze (1899–1971) and Princess Nina Georgievna of Russia (Romanov) (1901–1974), a descendant of a prominent Georgian noble family and the Imperial Russian dynasty. David Chavchavadze (May 20, 1924 – October 5, 2014) was a British-born American author and a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer of Georgian-Russian origin. They have one son: **Prince David Chavchavadze (born 2016) | ||
After the war, he entered Yale University where he was a member of The Society of Orpheus and Bacchus, the second longest running a cappella group in the United States. | |||
During his time in WWII, he trained at Camp Ritchie putting him among the ranks of many Ritchie Boys. | |||
Chavchavadze entered the United States Army in 1943 and served during World War II as liaison for the U.S. It's a story that takes place in Berlin, the spy capital of the world in the 1950's, before the construction of the Berlin Wall about the greatest espionage operation of the Cold War. He married Helen Husted on September 13, 1952, and they were divorced in 1959. | |||
*Princess Maria Chavchavadze (August 28, 1953) married Alexander Rasic on October 27, 1990, and they were divorced. He remarried Judith Clippinger on December 28, 1959, and they were divorced in 1970. *Princess Catherine Chavchavadze (December 29, 1960) married John Alan Redpath on September 22, 1990. | |||
They have one step-son, Paul George Olkhovsky (August 11, 1960). He remarried, again, this time to Euginie de Smitt in 1979. He also published Crowns and Trenchcoats: A Russian Prince in the CIA (1989) based on his CIA experiences, and translated from Russian Stronger Than Power: A Collection of Stories by Sandji B. | |||
They have one daughter: **Yelena Rasic (December 16, 1990) *Princess Alexandra Chavchavadze (December 24, 1954) married Puthukuty Krishnan Ramani on November 26, 1988. They have two children: **Alexander Chavchavadze Ramani-Poduval (May 18, 1991) **Caroline Chavchavadze Ramani-Poduval (June 6, 1994) They have two daughters: **Sophia Redpath (July 4, 1996) **Nina Nolan Redpath (October 13, 1998) *Prince Michael Chavchavadze (August 1, 1966) married Colleen Quinn in 2011. | |||
His father, Prince Paul, was a fiction writer and translator of writings from Georgian into English, and an émigré in the United Kingdom, and then the United States. Army Air Force Lend-Lease supply operations to the Soviet Union. He spent more than two decades of his career as a CIA officer in the Soviet Union Division. | |||
Balykov, an emigre Kalmyk writer. Additionally, he lectured part-time at Georgetown, The George Washington and George Mason Universities on Russian history and culture. As a grandchild of a Russian Grand Duke, he was an Associate Member of the Romanov Family Association. | |||
Via his mother, Chavchavadze is great-great-grandson (through Grand Duke Mikhail Nicholaevich) and simultaneously great-great-great-grandson (through Queen of Greece, Olga Constantinovna) of Nicholas I. He is also a second cousin to King Charles III of the United Kingdom via his mother as well. They have two daughters and three grandchildren: | |||
They have two children and three grandchildren: My wife very well knows my interest in non-fiction books; especially those related to WWII in general, and the Ritchie Boys in particular. Naturally, I was pleasantly surprised when she got me this book over the holidays. | |||
But neither she nor I was aware that there is a Ritchie Boy connection! Ritchie Boy David Chavchavadze was an operative working out of the CIA's Berlin Operations Base. According to Chavchavadze, "Berlin had so many intelligence officers, agents and goons in it that they must have made up a measurable percentage of the population." More on RB David Chavchavadze to follow. | But neither she nor I was aware that there is a Ritchie Boy connection! Ritchie Boy David Chavchavadze was an operative working out of the CIA's Berlin Operations Base. According to Chavchavadze, "Berlin had so many intelligence officers, agents and goons in it that they must have made up a measurable percentage of the population." More on RB David Chavchavadze to follow. | ||
After his retirement, Chavchavadze specialized in tracing the nobility of Imperial Russia and authored The Grand Dukes (1989). David Chavchavadze died in his sleep on October 5, 2014, aged 90, after a long illness. | |||
Revision as of 12:56, 24 August 2026
| David Chavchavadze | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 May 1924 London, England |
| Died | 5 October 2014 Washington, Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Nativity | Great Britain |
| Religion | Greek Orthodox |
| Known for | Cia Officer, Author |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| ASN | 11092357 |
| Rank | Private |
| Camp Ritchie | Class 10 (23 July – 20 September 1943) |
| Section | 7D |
| Enlisted | Ft Devens, Massachusetts |
| Battles / wars | WWII |
{{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.
David Chavchavadze (May 20, 1924 – October 5, 2014) was a British-born American author and a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer of Georgian-Russian origin.
Biography
Chavchavadze was born in London to Prince Paul Chavchavadze (1899–1971) and Princess Nina Georgievna of Russia (Romanov) (1901–1974), a descendant of a prominent Georgian noble family and the Imperial Russian dynasty. David Chavchavadze (May 20, 1924 – October 5, 2014) was a British-born American author and a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer of Georgian-Russian origin. They have one son: **Prince David Chavchavadze (born 2016)
After the war, he entered Yale University where he was a member of The Society of Orpheus and Bacchus, the second longest running a cappella group in the United States.
During his time in WWII, he trained at Camp Ritchie putting him among the ranks of many Ritchie Boys.
Chavchavadze entered the United States Army in 1943 and served during World War II as liaison for the U.S. It's a story that takes place in Berlin, the spy capital of the world in the 1950's, before the construction of the Berlin Wall about the greatest espionage operation of the Cold War. He married Helen Husted on September 13, 1952, and they were divorced in 1959.
- Princess Maria Chavchavadze (August 28, 1953) married Alexander Rasic on October 27, 1990, and they were divorced. He remarried Judith Clippinger on December 28, 1959, and they were divorced in 1970. *Princess Catherine Chavchavadze (December 29, 1960) married John Alan Redpath on September 22, 1990.
They have one step-son, Paul George Olkhovsky (August 11, 1960). He remarried, again, this time to Euginie de Smitt in 1979. He also published Crowns and Trenchcoats: A Russian Prince in the CIA (1989) based on his CIA experiences, and translated from Russian Stronger Than Power: A Collection of Stories by Sandji B.
They have one daughter: **Yelena Rasic (December 16, 1990) *Princess Alexandra Chavchavadze (December 24, 1954) married Puthukuty Krishnan Ramani on November 26, 1988. They have two children: **Alexander Chavchavadze Ramani-Poduval (May 18, 1991) **Caroline Chavchavadze Ramani-Poduval (June 6, 1994) They have two daughters: **Sophia Redpath (July 4, 1996) **Nina Nolan Redpath (October 13, 1998) *Prince Michael Chavchavadze (August 1, 1966) married Colleen Quinn in 2011.
His father, Prince Paul, was a fiction writer and translator of writings from Georgian into English, and an émigré in the United Kingdom, and then the United States. Army Air Force Lend-Lease supply operations to the Soviet Union. He spent more than two decades of his career as a CIA officer in the Soviet Union Division.
Balykov, an emigre Kalmyk writer. Additionally, he lectured part-time at Georgetown, The George Washington and George Mason Universities on Russian history and culture. As a grandchild of a Russian Grand Duke, he was an Associate Member of the Romanov Family Association.
Via his mother, Chavchavadze is great-great-grandson (through Grand Duke Mikhail Nicholaevich) and simultaneously great-great-great-grandson (through Queen of Greece, Olga Constantinovna) of Nicholas I. He is also a second cousin to King Charles III of the United Kingdom via his mother as well. They have two daughters and three grandchildren:
They have two children and three grandchildren: My wife very well knows my interest in non-fiction books; especially those related to WWII in general, and the Ritchie Boys in particular. Naturally, I was pleasantly surprised when she got me this book over the holidays.
But neither she nor I was aware that there is a Ritchie Boy connection! Ritchie Boy David Chavchavadze was an operative working out of the CIA's Berlin Operations Base. According to Chavchavadze, "Berlin had so many intelligence officers, agents and goons in it that they must have made up a measurable percentage of the population." More on RB David Chavchavadze to follow.
After his retirement, Chavchavadze specialized in tracing the nobility of Imperial Russia and authored The Grand Dukes (1989). David Chavchavadze died in his sleep on October 5, 2014, aged 90, after a long illness.
Research notes
- to 1st Lt
- Alaska
- Cia
- https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11219248/Prince-David-Chavchavadze-obituary.html
- Enlisted Reserve or Medical Administrative Corps (MAC) Officer
- Romanov prince
- Author, "Crowns and Trenchcoats: A Russian Prince in the CIA"
- Portrait and summary from Notable Ritchie Boys slides (source).
Gallery
Technical record
| Field | Imported value |
|---|---|
| Approx Age at Death | 90 |
| Nara ASN | 11092357 |
| Nara Name | CHAVCHAVADZE DAVID |
| Nara State | 13 |
| Nara County | 1 |
| Nara POE | 1328 |
| Nara DOE | 260243 |
| Nara Grade Alpha | PVT |
| Nara Grade Code | 8 |
| Nara Branch Alpha | N- |
| Nara Branch Code | 2 |
| Branch | No branch assignment |
| Nara Term or Enlistment | 5 |
| Term of enlistment | Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law |
| Defer. Date | 0 |
| Nara Source | 5 |
| Nara Nativity | K1 |
| Nara Year of Birth | 24 |
| Nara Race | 1 |
| Nara Race Description | White citizen |
| Nara Education | 4 |
| Nara Civilian Occupation | 2 |
| Nara Marital Status | 6 |
| Nara Height (inches) | 0 |
| Nara Weight (lbs) | 137 |
| Class_ASN | 11092357 |
| Class_Name | CHAVCHAVADZE, David |
| match_method | asn_exact_name_exact |
| row_source | both |
Sources
- Wikipedia: David Chavchavadze
- Camp Ritchie class roster (classes 1–31), merged research file
- NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
- 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
- Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2020-01-27 (1 post)