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.
Stephen Petrovich Soudakoff
| Stephen Petrovich Soudakoff | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Stepan Petrovich Soudakoff Steve Soudakoff Sudakov |
| Born | 25 March 1922 Beijing, China |
| Died | 28 November 2015 |
| Nativity | China |
| Religion | Greek Orthodox |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| ASN | 39550783 |
| Rank | First Lieutenant |
| Rank at Ritchie | Private |
| Camp Ritchie | Class 6 (13 March – 11 May 1943) |
| Section | 10 |
| Enlisted | Los Angeles, California |
{{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.
Stephen Petrovich Soudakoff (25 March 1922–28 November 2015) was a Beijing-born Russian-language specialist and Camp Ritchie trainee (Class 6) who served as a U.S. Army first lieutenant and linguist with the 24th Signal Service Detachment in the China-Burma-India Theater.
Biography
Stephen Petrovich Soudakoff (also Stepan Petrovich; variants Sudakov / Sudykoff) was born on 25 March 1922 in Peking (Beijing), China, to a Russian émigré family. His father was an ophthalmologist who also served as physician at the Russian embassy in Beijing; his mother came from a Russian upper-class family with diplomatic relatives. The family later lived in California. He filed a declaration of intention toward U.S. Citizenship in 1939 (Fold3 gallery).
Soudakoff enlisted in the U.S. Army at Los Angeles on 30 December 1942. He trained at Camp Ritchie, Maryland, in Class 6 (roster); in a Veterans History Project interview he recalled Fort Ritchie / Hagerstown training about March 1943, cryptographic training at Camp Crowder, Missouri, after Camp Roberts, and assignment to China. In the China-Burma-India Theater he served with the 24th Signal Service Detachment (and Headquarters China Theater) as a Russian and Chinese linguist / intelligence specialist—shift chief and trainer of Chinese personnel—attached at times with a U.S. Army intelligence detachment supporting the 3rd Marine Amphibious Force in North China. He left the service as a first lieutenant (1942–1946).
After the war he taught Russian at Indiana University (Bloomington) in the 1960s Summer Language Workshop / Slavic program, later worked at language programs in Texas and Monterey, and retired from the Defense Language Institute in the Washington, D.C., area. In 2001 he published a short ACTR note on advanced Russian reading/translation skills for presidential needs connected with the Direct Communications Link. He died on 28 November 2015; burial is recorded in Washington, D.C.
Research notes
- 3/25/1922-A
- Fold3 contributor notes also claim a Venona decrypt (Ilya Wolston / “SLAVA”) naming Soudakoff among Camp Ritchie trainees—keep as an unverified research lead, not established biography.
- Fold3 memorial gallery holds many scans (naturalization, 26 May 1943 MI training / Camp Ritchie pages, yearbook/crop portraits, DLI Globe, newspaper clippings). Images were not re-uploaded here (Fold3 login wall); use the memorial gallery link in Sources.
Gallery
No local portrait uploaded yet. See the Fold3 memorial gallery for yearbook crops, naturalization, Camp Ritchie training pages, and DLI clippings.
Technical record
| Field | Imported value |
|---|---|
| Nara ASN | 39550783 |
| Nara Name | SOUDAKOFF STEPHEN |
| Nara State | 91 |
| Nara County | 37 |
| Nara POE | 9141 |
| Nara DOE | 301242 |
| Nara Grade Alpha | PV0 |
| Nara Grade Code | 8 |
| Nara Branch Alpha | BI |
| Nara Branch Code | 0 |
| Branch | Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA |
| 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 | 0 |
| Nara Nativity | P8 |
| Nara Year of Birth | 22 |
| Nara Race | 3 |
| Nara Race Description | Chinese citizen |
| Nara Education | 5 |
| Nara Civilian Occupation | 125 |
| Nara Marital Status | 1 |
| Nara Height (inches) | 69 |
| Nara Weight (lbs) | 164 |
| Class_ASN | 39550703 |
| Class_Name | SOUDAKOFF, Stephen |
| match_method | asn_near_name_exact |
| row_source | both |
Timeline
- 25 March 1922 — Born in Peking (Beijing), China (Russian émigré family).
- 1939 — Declaration of Intention toward U.S. citizenship (Fold3 gallery scan).
- 30 December 1942 — Enlists, Los Angeles, California (ASN 39550783).
- c. March 1943 — Camp Ritchie / Hagerstown training (Class 6 on roster; VHP interview).
- Camp Crowder, Missouri — cryptographic training; then China assignment.
- 1943–1946 — 24th Signal Service Detachment / Headquarters China Theater; Russian and Chinese linguist; first lieutenant.
- January 1946 — Other service notation on Fold3 timeline.
- 1960s — Russian instructor, Indiana University (Bloomington) Summer Language Workshop / Slavic program.
- Later — Texas; Monterey; Defense Language Institute (Washington area); retires.
- 2001 — ACTR Letter note on advanced Russian reading/translation for presidential needs.
- 28 November 2015 — Died; burial recorded in Washington, D.C.
Sources
- NARA WWII Army enlistment (ASN 39550783; Los Angeles, 30 December 1942)
- CIA FOIA reading-room PDF CIA-RDP91B00135R000701210004-8 (1983; linked from Fold3)
- Stephen Soudakoff, “Developing 3+/4 reading and translation skills for presidential needs” (ACTR Letter, 2001; ResearchGate)
- “Russians in Bloomington in the 1960s” (IU / HathiTrust) — Stepan Petrovich Soudakoff biography notes
- VHP interview transcript excerpt (Fort Ritchie; Camp Crowder; 24th Signal in China)
- Library of Congress Veterans History Project — Stephen Soudakoff Collection (AFC/2001/001/186; CBI; 24th Signal Service Detachment; first lieutenant)
- Fold3 memorial — Stephen Petrovich Soudakoff (1922)
- 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)