Richmond’s George and Servart Ovigian (Part II)
The uncertainty of war and surviving pressed many couples to become engaged before servicemen were shipped to the front. It had to be a source of solace for these young men to know that someone was waiting for them back home. The flood of correspondence, too, was a reassurance.
Now engaged to Servart Bektimerian, George Ovigian was processed to go overseas to meet his fate. He left on the huge, fast-moving ship The Queen Mary from the Port of New York along with 40,000 passengers.
George said, “We had no escort across the Atlantic Ocean since there was no known enemy ship or submarine that could catch The Queen Mary because it was the fastest ship afloat.”
“The USO troop entertained us by having some skits or music in the dining hall. One of the acts was Mickey Rooney who did a wrestling act. It was stormy and the ship bounced up and down. For safety’s sake, the ship would turn sharply to alter its course as an invasive maneuver in case a sub might be waiting for us to come near them. During his act, Rooney stood straight up, holding his mouth and running out of the dining hall very sea sick.” George was an avid boat owner in civilian life, having even owned a 25-foot Bertran boat on 35-mile-long, 300-foot-deep Lake George, where later as a married couple he and Servart would spend many enjoyable hours.
The five-day trip landed in Scotland and they boarded a train for England. “We arrived at camp very late at night where we expected a hot meal. Camp was extremely dark, mud up to our knees, and entirely empty. Our quarters had no stoves, no mattresses, and no lights. We received C-rations, no hot meal.”
“Our job began of rebuilding camp for ourselves and other expected troops. Camp is one big mess of mud, shacks, and trucks.”
It makes you wonder what price you put on freedom for America. At this point our soldiers are not even in the thick of war but are experiencing severe lack of comforts such as warm beds and palatable food.
Ovigian is promoted to Tec 4 and is officially a stenographer dealing with intelligence and operations. When Ovigian got a pass he went to London looking for the Armenian Church but it was closed. He went across the street to a restaurant to inquire as to the priest’s whereabouts and discovered the owner was Armenian. He invited Ovigian to a dinner of leg of lamb. “What a treat!” George recalled.
Heavy London fog proved lucky for Ovigian. He heard and saw his first V-1 bomb which landed on the Red Cross Club, where he was bound to get lodging. The delay saved him from certain injury or death.
On Dec. 25, 1944, his convoy boarded a ship joined with 52 ships. That evening his ship trembled violently due to bad explosions. A call went out of “All hands on deck and prepare to abandon ship!” They were hit by a torpedo in the bow. A sub sank ships in front and behind George’s ships. “Compartments were closed to prevent sinking. All trucks and equipment stored in the bow were presumed lost. We drifted around with engines shut down for six days. Engines were finally started and the entire convoy of 63 ships started to move toward France.”
During those six days they were served C-rations three times a day causing everyone to gain a lot of weight.
On the way to the French coast, they were bound for the small town of Benouville, France. Their building for housing was a chateau that was booby trapped by the departing Germans. Even the toilets with the water tank hanging near the ceiling with a chain to flush would explode when the chain was pulled.
Ovigian’s next housing was Chateau de Gruville near Fecamp, France, and a factory where they made Benedictine Brandy. “I took a gallon of the brandy and agreed not to open it until the war was over.”
The next duty was to do mine clearing. He and another sergeant had one hour to study a booklet of all known German mines. Then they went into a live minefield, located in the sands along the English Channel to be cleared for civilians to once again go to fish for food. During this minefield operation, one soldier was killed and another lost his eyes.
“We got shot at by a German sniper in Bad Neuenahr, Germany, but no one was hurt. We were searching for a new site for our outfit. We found a bank, had been bombed, and German money was laying all over the street. We picked up a hundred thousand dollars each and while in Berlin the decision was made to buy a building and use it for the Enlisted Men’s Club.”
Ovigian spent nine months in Berlin, accumulating service points qualifying him to return to the United States. It was fraught with difficulties. The morning after he boarded the ship for home, he got diphtheria. He was given anti-toxin shots and 100,000 cc’s of penicillin shots every 3 hours for the 13 days it took to reach New York. He has been allergic to penicillin ever since.
Ovigian’s parents and Servart were waiting at the Albany station. You can imagine the joyful reunion.
Upon conclusion of the war, George Ovigian and Servart Bektimerian were married in Richmond, Va., in St. Paul’s Episcopalian Church by an Armenian priest.
Ovigian says happily, “The wedding was a big typical Armenian celebration, joining the two Armenian families, thrilled that their children engaged throughout George’s overseas service were now married to fellow Armenians.”
Ovigian, armed with a BBA accounting degree from Sienna College, had a position waiting for him at the war’s end with General Electric as manager of employee benefits for 40 years. The newlyweds settled in Latham, N.Y., becoming parents to George, Jr. and eventually great grandparents.
George and Servart attended Armenian events in the Poconos. They toured Europe visiting five different capitals. They took two cross-country trips visiting Hawaii, New Orleans, El Paso, and touring all of the U.S. except for four states.
As for hobbies, George says, “I like numbers,” but the figure he loves the best were the 66 years of marriage to his number 1 love Servart. She passed away in 2012.
Now alone, he has a housekeeping regimen at his townhouse. Every winter morning, he exercises by walking at a local mall where he meets friends. He says, “That’s where I meet friends and we solve the world’s problems.”
He has subscribed to the Armenian Weekly for 70 years. That’s how the name “Apigian” got us acquainted years ago, and seems we Keghetzis both had our beginning in Brantfort, Ontario, and are distantly related. Aris Ohanessian and his wife passed away a few years ago. Ovigian now serves as auditor for all the St. James Armenian Church organizations.
Last year he was part of four busloads from Richmond participating in what is called “Honor Flight” for veterans. They visited monuments in Washington, D.C., during a one-day trip that included three meals a day, not C-rations. The tour included Arlington National Cemetery; he deemed the Honor Flight a good memory.
He plans on having a military burial to include the remains of his wife and son.
It gives me great pleasure to write this wartime love story of George and Servart Ovigian, brought together by one young Armenian Youth Federation member of the Troy, N.Y. chapter who, although far from home used the phone book to find a few fellow Hyes. He succeeded and it culminated in a long, loving relationship.
“I have no regrets,” says George of his life.
Theirs is just one story of love and war. So many others exist. God bless America!
Betty Apigian-Kessel
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George,
I enjoyed your story very much and every installment I read I thought of all the times you, Servart, The Dolabs and Mardigians and my parents, Charles and Mary Tashjian, as well as other couples throughout the years, got together in the Capital District.
All our love,
Richard and Jo-Ann Tashjian and family