[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 128 (Tuesday, September 17, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1620]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO VICTOR MAGHAKIAN

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. GEORGE P. RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 17, 1996

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to give special 
tribute to Victor Maghakian, a gentleman who resided in California's 
19th Congressional District, and who served our great country, until 
his death in 1977.
  William B. Secrest, a guest writer for the Fresno Bee, wrote a 
wonderful tribute to Mr. Maghakian, and at this time, I would like to 
share it with my colleagues:

      ``Transport'' Maghakian Served His Country Well as a Marine

       To find the soul of Memorial Day, let us pause from gun 
     salutes and distant trumpets to recall the life of a great 
     adopted Freeman.
       Victor Maghakian was born in Chicago, but he and his family 
     gravitated to San Diego in 1930 and to Fresno nine years 
     afterward. Between moves he served a hitch in the United 
     States Marine Corps and was stationed throughout the 
     Philippines and China. His familiarity with foreign bases and 
     situations earned him the nickname ``Transport,'' signifying 
     ``he knows his way around.


                            ``suicide unit''

       When Pearl Harbor occurred, Transport was serving as a 
     Fresno County deputy sheriff. Full of shock and fierce 
     patriotism, he re-enlisted in the Corps immediately. He was 
     elated to discover it needed volunteers for a so-called 
     ``suicide unit'' of crack soldiers.
       The unit, known as Carlson's Raiders after its founder and 
     commander, Col. Evans F. Carlson, was reserved for the 
     toughest Marines--15,000 applied, 900 were accepted. Its 
     members endured weeks of training in martial arts, mountain 
     climbing, beach landings and 35- to 50-mile daily hikes.
       By mid-1942 Transport and the Raiders were itching to join 
     the island-hopping, hand-to-hand combat in the Pacific. Their 
     first mission was to fool the Japanese into thinking a large 
     troop wave was hitting Makin Island. Only 222 Raiders were 
     slated for the invasion--a tiny ripple that turned out to be 
     as good as a tsunami.
       During the night of Aug. 16, the Raiders snuck into Makin 
     via submarines and rubber boats. After daylight the battle 
     began. Transport, machine-gunning frantically and nursing 
     a forearm wound, noticed that two planes with enemy 
     officers had landed. They were assessing the situation for 
     the brass at headquarters and therefore had to be stopped.
       Bleeding, struggling to stay conscious and armed with just 
     a rifle, Transport crept toward an anti-tank gun. Before he 
     got there, he pulverized an enemy launch with a grenade, and 
     surprised and bayonetted a Japanese infantryman. Luckily, 
     enough ammunition was left to destroy both planes and muzzle 
     the officers. Transport's boldness ensured that the small 
     Raider force stayed a secret.
       Transport's follow-up exploit was just as amazing. The 
     following December, he and some other Raiders were bogged 
     down by enemy sniper fire on Guadalcanal. Suddenly, a bullet 
     hit and mortally wounded one of his buddies, Lt. Jack Miller 
     of Dallas. Transport stood out and made himself a human 
     target so the sniper would give up his hiding spot. The enemy 
     was soon mowed down and Lt. Miller avenged.
       This time, Transport's bravado came at a personal price. He 
     was shot through the wrist, and the watch he was wearing 
     became embedded in skin and bone. It took years for the 
     fragments to work their way out or be removed; once, the 
     mainspring was found wrapped around an artery. Some pieces 
     never emerged.


                        willing to take a chance

       Asked why he took that high risk, Transport offered a 
     homely, yet apt, answer: ``It seems to get you mad. Good and 
     mad. Furious. You make up your mind you are going to get that 
     so-and-so if it costs you a slug in the belly.''
       Wounds and risks never daunted Transport. During the 1944 
     battle of Eniwetok, he elminated the last four Japanese 
     soldiers on Mellu Island single-handedly, and rescued a 
     platoon by looping around an enemy flank and destroying it 
     with grenades. He also saved the life of a young marine who 
     later ended up in Hollywood--Lee Marvin--and became the first 
     officer to raise the American flag on Tinian Island.
       Transport left active duty in 1946, full of honors: the 
     Navy Cross, two Silver Stars, a Bronze Star and two Purple 
     Hearts. When fully retired he was listed as 60 percent 
     disabled, but it didn't affect his subsequent successful 
     career as a Las Vegas hotel executive and security 
     consultant. After living there for much of the postwar era, 
     he returned to Fresno three years before his death in 1977. 
     Capt. Maghakian now sleeps at Ararat Cemetery.
       Without the Transports, we would not know freedom, strength 
     or national greatness. It's sad to know that recently, when 
     names were proposed for new local high schools, his came up 
     and was rejected. For now we can honor his name through 
     remembrance, and hope that soon Victor Maghakian will have a 
     memorial which befits his undeniable stature.

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