William Aliapoulos

Lt. William "Vasilios" "Bill" George Aliapoulos (Greek: Βασίλειος Γ. Αλιαπούλιος; August 13, 1917 Manchester, New Hampshire, US – October 20, 2008 Toledo, Ohio, US ) was an American-born Greek engineer and 1st Lieutenant platoon leader (officer) of the 406th Engineer Combat Company called the "Ghost Army", officially known as the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops. Aliapoulos was awarded the Bronze Star medal for service during Operation Brittany.

Aliapoulos is mentioned in a film and numerous books: in the documentary, The Ghost Army directed by Rick Beyer, pictured and mentioned in page 29 of the book Ghosts of the ETO - American Tactical Deception Units in the European Theatre 1944-1945 written by the author Jonathan Gawne and pictured and mentioned in the book The Ghost Army of World War II: How One Top-Secret Unit Deceived the Enemy with Inflatable Tanks, Sound Effects, and Other Audacious Fakery The newspaper reads: "Children Saved in Fire, Manchester, N. H., April 26.- (AP.) Snapped from their crib as flames licked at their bedroom door, two small children were saved by William Aliapoulos, 21, and two others were rescued by firemen while flames swept through a three- story tenement block today. Twelve persons fled from the fire which was caused, firemen said, by an exploding range burner which drenched the first floor kitchen in flaming fuel oil." in Manchester, New Hampshire, Aliapoulos attended various academic colleges and majors until settling on Engineering. on campus. Aliapoulos' writing was published The New Hampshire newspaper article "War Relief Program Commenced To Assist Struggling Greeks" on March 7, 1941, in solidarity with his heritage and was leader of the school's Greek society Frances was the daughter of Greek immigrants, Nicholas Moulopoulos and Aphrodite Billis. While overseas in Europe for deployment, William named his army jeep "Paper Doll" after Frances, in the Ghost Army."

After the war, in 1945, William married Frances in her hometown of Toledo, Ohio, which became William's new residence. and graduated from the University of Toledo.

On December 7, 1947, William and Frances appeared in the Boston Globe "A local Toledo family was split by the game....William Aliapoulos, a Toledo resident, is a New Hampshire Grad, while his wife went to the U. of Toledo....They sat on opposite sides of the field."

In 1949, William and Frances had their first daughter Elaine, and four years later, had their second daughter Jodi. The North American manufacturer specialized in producing industrial furnaces and heat treating equipment. On June 22, 1963, Aliapoulos was featured in The Daily Sentinel Tribune newspaper. It reads, "Aliapoulos, a supervisor at the Surface Combustion Division of Midland-Ross Corporation was the main speaker of the evening."

Affiliations Continuing with his service in university

Death William died on October 20, 2008, in Toledo Hospital within seven months after his wife Frances died on March 23, 2008.