35 Facts About Victor Maghakian

Captain Victor "Transport" Maghakian was an Armenian-American member of the United States Marine Corps during World War II.

Victor Maghakian was awarded with the Navy Cross for his efforts during the raid.

In January 1944, Victor Maghakian volunteered to participate in another assault, against Kwajalein Atoll of the Marshall Islands, in the Battle of Kwajalein.

Victor Maghakian took part in the Battle of Tinian and was the one who raised the American flag on the island after its capture.

Victor Maghakian was part of a Marine force that captured a Japanese aircraft field during the Battle of Saipan.

Victor Maghakian was born on December 30,1915, in Chicago, Illinois, to an Armenian family.

Victor Maghakian was the oldest of four brothers and three sisters.

Victor Maghakian's great-grandfather was a caravan driver in the Middle East and was respected for his military prowess.

Victor Maghakian took up much of the responsibility of raising his younger siblings.

In 1930, the Victor Maghakian family moved to San Diego, California, where he originally decided to join the United States Navy.

However, on the way to see the recruiter, Victor Maghakian stopped by to watch Pride of the Marines starring Charles Bickford.

In 1936, after Victor Maghakian enlisted in the Marine Corps, he was sent to Asia.

Victor Maghakian was stationed in the Philippines and China for four years.

In 1939, Victor Maghakian returned to Fresno where he became a Fresno County deputy sheriff and was assigned to safeguard power installations and dams of the California Edison Company near the Sierra Nevada.

Victor Maghakian was already acquainted with Carlson during his previous service as a Marine.

Out of 900 members of the battalion, Victor Maghakian was selected as one of the 222 to participate.

The raid was launched on August 17,1942, as Victor Maghakian led the charge onto the beachhead with a landing force but was the first casualty in this operation suffering from a forearm wound while waving his hand for instructions.

Victor Maghakian's name was added onto a list of soldiers who were to return home.

Victor Maghakian then stood up and exposed himself so that the enemy soldiers would come out of their hiding spots.

Victor Maghakian was wounded once more in the wrist, and the watch he was wearing became embedded in his skin and bone.

In January 1944, Victor Maghakian volunteered to participate in another assault, that of one against Kwajalein Atoll of the Marshall Islands in what would be called the Battle of Kwajalein.

Victor Maghakian is credited for killing the last five enemy soldiers who were encamped in a trench in the northernmost point of the islet.

Japanese machine gun fire ambushed the platoon, but Victor Maghakian managed to gun down the ambushers with his carbine.

Victor Maghakian managed to kill twelve Japanese soldiers by the end of the campaign.

Victor Maghakian, who took part in the fighting, raised the American flag on the island after its capture.

Victor Maghakian was either part of the third or fourth wave of Marines to land on the beaches of Saipan.

Victor Maghakian was once more sent to the United States for treatment.

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Platoon Sergeant Victor Maghakian, United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism and conspicuous devotion to duty while serving as a Platoon Sergeant of Company A, Second Marine Raider Battalion, during the Marine Raider Expedition against the Japanese-held island of Makin in the Gilbert Islands on 17 and 18 August 1942.

Victor Maghakian was a patient at the US Naval hospital in Quantico, Virginia, in October 1945.

Victor Maghakian then went for more treatment at the Naval hospital in Philadelphia.

Victor Maghakian returned to Fresno and later moved to Las Vegas, where he became a hotel executive and a security consultant from 1954 to 1974.

In 1974, Victor Maghakian returned to Fresno, dying of colon cancer on August 17,1977, at the age of 61.

Victor Maghakian is buried at the Armenian Ararat Cemetery in Fresno.

Victor Maghakian was truly a sergeant who cared for his men.

Victor Maghakian was one of the most decorated military men in World War II.