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Dispatches on Germany's surrender donated to ASU
The Arizona Republic
May 8, 2005
By Connie Cone Sexton
Sixty years ago, Greg Melikian was huddled over a telegraph machine in
a corner of a red schoolhouse in Reims, France, fiercely tapping the
most important message he'd ever send.
" . . . unconditional surrender of all German land, sea and air forces
in Europe to the Allied expeditionary force . . . "
Germany's quest for domination during World War II was over.
The surrender came at 2:41 a.m. May 7, 1945, in the "war room" of the
schoolhouse where German leaders had come to meet with Gen. Dwight
D. Eisenhower and other Allied leaders.
Once the agreement was made, Melikian, then a 20-year-old Army
sergeant and member of the Army Signal Corps, was ordered to telegraph
a dispatch to government leaders in the United States, London and what
would become the Soviet Union. As he concentrated on tapping out the
Morse code, Melikian couldn't shut out his elation that "now, my God,
there is a chance we're going home."
May 8 became the official day of celebration, taking its place in
history as Victory in Europe or VE Day.
Knowing he had participated in a significant moment of history,
Melikian managed to keep the original dispatch he had sent, along with
nine others that were part of the effort to secure Germany's
surrender.
Three years ago, Melikian, the owner of the Hotel San Carlos in
downtown Phoenix, donated them to Arizona State University's
Department of Archives and Manuscripts. The 10 dispatches are on
display through May 31 in the Luhrs Reading Room at the ASU Hayden
Library in Tempe.
Melikian, who will soon celebrate his 81st birthday, said he'll never
forget the excitement of the days leading to the surrender.
"We had champagne waiting," he said and laughed at the memory.
He thinks about the pandemonium that spread across the United States
and with the country's allies on May 8.
Rob Spindler, who heads the ASU archive department, is thrilled to
have Melikian's dispatches, saying they are tangible evidence of the
struggle that ensued as Eisenhower adamantly pushed for Germany's
surrender.
"I think people of a certain age are very much attuned to VE Day
because it was a momentous occasion. It was a day they knew their
loved ones would be returning safe," Spindler said.
On a recent Thursday, 19-year-old Caitlin Townsend, a political
science major from Phoenix, sat just an arm's length from the Melikian
dispatches, which are displayed in two glass cases.
Townsend wasn't familiar with VE Day, "but I'm glad that they've taken
care to preserve what they can from those days," she said. "It's
wonderful to get to see historical papers. It's really important that
we can see them, not just read about them."
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0508victoryday.html
The Arizona Republic
May 8, 2005
By Connie Cone Sexton
Sixty years ago, Greg Melikian was huddled over a telegraph machine in
a corner of a red schoolhouse in Reims, France, fiercely tapping the
most important message he'd ever send.
" . . . unconditional surrender of all German land, sea and air forces
in Europe to the Allied expeditionary force . . . "
Germany's quest for domination during World War II was over.
The surrender came at 2:41 a.m. May 7, 1945, in the "war room" of the
schoolhouse where German leaders had come to meet with Gen. Dwight
D. Eisenhower and other Allied leaders.
Once the agreement was made, Melikian, then a 20-year-old Army
sergeant and member of the Army Signal Corps, was ordered to telegraph
a dispatch to government leaders in the United States, London and what
would become the Soviet Union. As he concentrated on tapping out the
Morse code, Melikian couldn't shut out his elation that "now, my God,
there is a chance we're going home."
May 8 became the official day of celebration, taking its place in
history as Victory in Europe or VE Day.
Knowing he had participated in a significant moment of history,
Melikian managed to keep the original dispatch he had sent, along with
nine others that were part of the effort to secure Germany's
surrender.
Three years ago, Melikian, the owner of the Hotel San Carlos in
downtown Phoenix, donated them to Arizona State University's
Department of Archives and Manuscripts. The 10 dispatches are on
display through May 31 in the Luhrs Reading Room at the ASU Hayden
Library in Tempe.
Melikian, who will soon celebrate his 81st birthday, said he'll never
forget the excitement of the days leading to the surrender.
"We had champagne waiting," he said and laughed at the memory.
He thinks about the pandemonium that spread across the United States
and with the country's allies on May 8.
Rob Spindler, who heads the ASU archive department, is thrilled to
have Melikian's dispatches, saying they are tangible evidence of the
struggle that ensued as Eisenhower adamantly pushed for Germany's
surrender.
"I think people of a certain age are very much attuned to VE Day
because it was a momentous occasion. It was a day they knew their
loved ones would be returning safe," Spindler said.
On a recent Thursday, 19-year-old Caitlin Townsend, a political
science major from Phoenix, sat just an arm's length from the Melikian
dispatches, which are displayed in two glass cases.
Townsend wasn't familiar with VE Day, "but I'm glad that they've taken
care to preserve what they can from those days," she said. "It's
wonderful to get to see historical papers. It's really important that
we can see them, not just read about them."
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0508victoryday.html