[ckissick]

Thanks, fint,

America recently lost another hero, my wife's uncle, Col John Kizirian, U.S. Army. My wife and I wrote this obit for him. We were very proud of him.


Colonel John Kizirian, U.S. Army (ret.) passed away at Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, Florida on February 26, following a brief illness. He was born on April 4, 1928 in Whitinsville, Massachusetts, to parents who had emigrated from Kharpert, Armenia. In May of 1945, at the age of seventeen and an Eagle Scout, his military career began. He joined the Navy and was sent to San Diego to be trained for action in the Pacific. However, the war ended just before he was shipped out. After an honorable discharge from the Navy in 1949, he soon resumed his military career and joined the Army.

In his 25 years with the Army he rose to the rank of full colonel. At the time of his first retirement in 1975, Colonel Kizirian was the most highly decorated officer in the history of Army Intelligence, with 66 decorations and awards. He served with distinction in Korea and Vietnam, with three battle campaigns in Korea, and six in Vietnam. While a lieutenant colonel in Vietnam, he often personally led troops in special combat missions. These missions were very dangerous, resulting in two purple hearts and a Distinguished Service Cross. Many colleagues argued that he should have been awarded the Medal of Honor instead of the Distinguished Service Cross, but his outspoken nature probably created too many foes in high places.

He worked closely with General William Westmoreland in Vietnam. He was Senior Intelligence Advisor to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam III Corps, concurrently as Commander, III Corps Military Intelligence Detachment and Senior Advisor to the Vietnamese III Corps Reconnaissance Element until the summer of 1968. After graduating from the U.S. Army War College in 1970, he returned to Vietnam and served as the Assistant Chief of Staff Intelligence, G2, First Air Cavalry Division.

Probably his greatest military achievement was his prediction of the Tet Offensive, while with Army Intelligence in Bien Hoa (20 miles north of Saigon), based on the 400 or so intelligence reports that came to his desk every day. He raised the alarm, but at first no one took the warning seriously. It took a briefing with General Abrams to get any action. This warning very likely saved thousands of American and South Vietnamese lives. Like his work in uncovering the Tet Offensive, most of his accomplishments and successes took place behind the scenes. One of his dearest friends, the late General James Hamlet, once said, “Colonel Kizirian is one of America’s greatest heroes, but nobody knows it.”

In 1980 he was recalled to active duty and served in the US Embassy in Jakarta, as the Senior U.S. Defense Representative and the U.S. Defense Attaché to the Republic of Indonesia until 1984, when he retired for the second time. He was offered a high level position in the office of the Secretary of Defense by Alexander Haig, but opted to decline due to his first wife Edith’s terminal illness.

Among his 39 decorations are the Distinguished Service Cross, Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Legion of Merit (4 awards), Distinguished Flying Cross, Soldiers Medal, Bronze Star with “V” for Valor (6 awards), and Purple Heart (3 awards).

Colonel Kizirian’s distinguished career has earned him a place in Honolulu’s Hall of Heroes. In addition, his record and accomplishments are subjects of study in a military education course in army intelligence.

He earned a Master’s of Science degree in Sociology from Florida State University, and a bachelor’s degree from University of Nebraska at Omaha. His military education included Special Forces Officers Course, Area Intelligence Officers Course, and Foreign Service Institute, Department of State.