George M. Avakian

George M. Avakian
Personal details
Born	15 March 1919 Armenia
Died	22 November 2017 New York City
Nativity	Armenia
Religion	Greek Orthodox
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	32171331
Rank	Staff Sergeant
Camp Ritchie	Class 18 (13 April – 10 June 1944)
Section	6E

Research notes on this page are compiled from the source file and later edits. They may be unverified, incomplete, or incorrect, and should not be treated as established fact. Please correct the article or add sources on the talk page. For class-roster terms, see About the data.

Sources & confidence: Treat Research notes as leads, not settled fact. Prefer NARA, the class roster, newspapers, Find a Grave, or published histories for contested claims. Mark unsourced claims with {{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.

George M. Avakian (15 March 1919 – 22 November 2017) was an Armenia-born Ritchie Boy (Class 18) who served as a photo interpreter in the Pacific and later became a pioneering jazz record producer.

Biography

George M. Avakian was born on 15 March 1919 in the Armenian region of the Russian Empire and later settled in the United States. He graduated from Yale (A.B., English) in 1941, was drafted that year (ASN 32171331), and studied languages in the ASTP at Harvard as a staff sergeant after Fort Benning.

He graduated from Camp Ritchie Class 18 on 10 June 1944 as an assistant photo interpreter / chief clerk and served in the Pacific (1944–46) with PI Team 247, including New Guinea and the Leyte and Mindanao operations in the Philippines, then occupation duty in Japan. He later wrote an unpublished essay on visiting Hiroshima days after the atomic bombing.

After the war Avakian became a major jazz producer and talent scout, notably at Columbia Records. He died in New York City on 22 November 2017 at age 98.

Research notes

• PI 247 Phillipines see notes
• RB Archive FBI FOIA PDF is heavily redacted; not used as a public biographical source beyond DOB confirmation already in Gross notes.

Gallery

• 
  From the archives of the New York Public Library's Digital Collection

Technical record

Field	Imported value
Approx Age at Death	98
Class_ASN	32171331
Class_Name	AVAKIAN, George M.
match_method	asn_exact_name_exact
row_source	both

Timeline

• 15 March 1919 — Born in Armenia (Russian Empire).
• 1941 — Yale A.B.; drafted (ASN 32171331).
• 1943 — ASTP languages, Harvard; Fort Benning.
• 10 June 1944 — Graduated Camp Ritchie Class 18 (photo interpreter).
• 1944–1946 — Pacific: PI Team 247; New Guinea; Leyte/Mindanao; Japan occupation.
• Postwar — Jazz record producer (Columbia and others).
• 22 November 2017 — Died in New York City, age 98.

Sources

• Dan Gross timeline research for George M. Avakian (private notes; Class 18 / PI 247)
• Wikipedia — George Avakian
• Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
• Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
• 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 2017-11-29 (2 posts)
• Dan Gross, Timeline of George M. Avakian for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 2 source documents reviewed)
• Dan Gross, Timeline of Avakian, George M. for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 2 source files: GEORGE AVAKIAN (2020).doc, GEORGE M. AVAKIAN.doc)