By Harry Agritha
George Dilboy was born in 1896 from Alatsata, Greece, the same village where my maternal grandparents emigrated from settling in Somerville around the same time as his family. In 1912 at the age of 17, while living in Somerville, George Dilboy went voluntarily back to Greece to fight with his fellow countrymen in the Balkan wars against the Turks.
In America again in 1916, he enlisted in the NH National Guard regiment in time to go to he Mexican Border. He was honorable discharged with the Call to Colors in 1917, he enlisted again in Company H and served with undaunted courage and sacrificed his life for his adopted country, The United States of America. He died on July 19, 1918 in Belleau, France.
George Dilboy is the only Greek American to receive The Congressional Medal of Honor in our countries history.
It is a true honor for my wife and I to be a part of this ceremony.
Medal of Honor recipient Colonel Nick Zallas U.S.A.F. Ret.
“As a military veteran of Greek descent, it makes me proud to be mentioned at the same event honoring a true Greek hero, Private 1st Class George Dilboy who made the ultimate sacrifice almost a century ago in the name of his newly adopted country. For his action at Belleu Wood in France, he became the first Greek American to be awarded the Medal of Honor during World War !.”
