David Chavchavadze
| David Chavchavadze | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 May 1924 London, England |
| Died | 5 October 2014 Washington, D.C. |
| Nativity | Great Britain |
| Religion | Greek Orthodox |
| Known for | Cia Officer, Author |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| ASN | 11092357 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Rank at Ritchie | 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 (20 May 1924 – 5 October 2014) was a London-born Ritchie Boy, Lend-Lease interpreter, and later a long-serving CIA officer and author of Georgian-Russian origin.
Biography edit
David Chavchavadze was born on 20 May 1924 in London to Prince Paul Chavchavadze and Princess Nina Georgievna of Russia. The family moved to the United States in 1927. He was educated at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, began Yale University on scholarship, and after his freshman year volunteered for the U.S. Army.
Chavchavadze enlisted on 26 February 1943 at Fort Devens, Massachusetts (ASN 11092357). Identified as a Russian speaker, he entered Camp Ritchie Class 10 (Russian) on 23 July 1943, graduated on 20 September 1943 as a classified assistant interpreter, and was promoted to technician third grade on 27 September 1943. He was posted to Alaska interpreting for Soviet personnel connected with Lend-Lease air ferry operations—including work associated with Andrei Gromyko—and later interpreted in postwar Berlin for occupation officials. Contemporary accounts state he was commissioned a second lieutenant around age 20 and left the Army as a captain.
After the war he finished his history studies at Yale, joined the CIA in 1950, and spent about twenty-five years as a case officer in Soviet operations, including early work in Berlin. He later wrote Crowns and Trenchcoats: A Russian Prince in the CIA (1989) and The Grand Dukes (1989) and lectured on Russian history. He died on 5 October 2014 in Washington, D.C., at age 90.
Research notes edit
- to 1st Lt
- Alaska
- Cia
- Enlisted Reserve or Medical Administrative Corps (MAC) Officer
- Romanov prince
- Author, "Crowns and Trenchcoats: A Russian Prince in the CIA"
- Class 10 roster lists technician third grade at graduation; Telegraph obituary reports later commission and discharge as captain—rank_final follows the later grade.
Technical record edit
| 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 |
Timeline edit
- 20 May 1924 — Born in London, England.
- 1927 — Family moved to the United States.
- Educated at Phillips Academy (Andover, Massachusetts); began Yale University.
- 26 February 1943 — Enlisted at Fort Devens, Massachusetts (ASN 11092357).
- 23 July – 20 September 1943 — Camp Ritchie Class 10 (Russian); graduated as classified assistant interpreter-Russian.
- 27 September 1943 — Promoted to technician third grade.
- 1943–1945 — Alaska Lend-Lease interpreting; later Berlin occupation interpreting; commissioned (accounts report captain by discharge).
- Postwar — Completed Yale history studies; recruited by CIA (report September 1950).
- c. 1950–1974 — CIA Soviet operations case officer (including Berlin); later contract debriefing work.
- 1989 — Published Crowns and Trenchcoats and The Grand Dukes.
- 5 October 2014 — Died in Washington, D.C.
Sources edit
- Dan Gross timeline research for David Chavchavadze (private research files; selected non-private findings)
- ProQuest copies of Telegraph obituaries in RB Archive folder “David Chavchavadze…” (private PDFs, not uploaded)
- Washington Post — David Chavchavadze obituary (8 November 2014)
- The Daily Telegraph / Telegraph.co.uk — Prince David Chavchavadze obituary (Nov 2014)
- Wikipedia — David Chavchavadze
- 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 2020-01-27 (1 post)
- Dan Gross, Timeline of David Chavchavadze for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)
- Dan Gross, Timeline of Chavchavadze, David for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: DAVID CHAVCHAVADZE.doc)