George M. Avakian

George M. Avakian
Personal details
Born	1919
Died	2017
Nativity	Russia
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 (1919–2017) was a Ritchie Boy (from Russia; Greek Orthodox) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 18.

Biography

Ritchie Boy historian Dan Gross informed me of the recent passing of RB George Avakian at age 98 in New York City. Avakian was a graduate of the 18th Class at Camp Ritchie with a specialty in photo interpretation. George was a record producer and talent scout who was involved in practically every facet of the music business. He was an avid jazz fan and oversaw the jazz operations of Columbia Records Here is a photo of RB George Avakian believed to have been taken at Fort Benning.

RB George Avakian passed away November 22, 2017 at the age of 98.

Research notes

• PI 247 Phillipines see notes

Gallery

• 
  From the archives of the New York Public Library's Digital Collection.
• 
  From the archives of the New York Public Library's Digital Collections, a photograph of Ritchie Boy George Avakian interviewing Fletcher Henderson during an Office of War Information broadcast.

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

Sources

• 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 2017-11-29 (2 posts)