Michael Scaljon

Family-Placed Death Notice

SCALJON, Michael Michael William Scaljon, Senior, of Memphis, Tennessee and Atlanta, Georgia, passed away Friday, May 30, 2008, after a long illness. Born in Izmir, Turkey in 1918, into a prominent Greek family, Michael, his parents, and four brothers, survived the Greek and Armenian Genocide of 1922 by Mustafa Kamal Ataturk and escaped to Greece, eventually settling in Baltimore, Maryland. Michael was educated in Baltimore, and planned to study art in Italy, however, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he and three of his brothers joined different branches of the U.S. military. Michael joined the Eighth Air Force while his two older brothers, Harry and Tony, joined the Army. Their younger brother, George, joined the Navy. It was decided that the oldest brother Gus, would stay in Baltimore to take care of the brothers' widowed mother. Because the young men volunteered for different branches of the military at the same time after Pearl Harbor, their mother, Esther Scaljon, was given the "Mother of the Year" award by the City of Baltimore. Michael saw extensive air combat in the "Mighty Eighth" where he was a bombardier. Michael was married to the love of his life, Victoria Harris Scaljon, of Memphis for forty-two years. They enjoyed dancing and entertaining friends. They were long time members of the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation in Memphis. Michael was a member of the Masonic Order and a Shriner. A true American hero, Michael Scaljon was a proud veteran and a Republican, and a firm believer in the Reagan tenet of "peace through strength." Michael is survived by his son, William Michael Scaljon, M.D.; daughter-in-law Vickie Scaljon; Grandson, Michael William Scaljon II, Granddaughter, Mimi Scaljon Godwin; grandson-in-law, Jason Godwin, all of Atlanta, Georgia; and his remaining brother, George Scaljon; Esther Scaljon Samios, a niece, both of Baltimore, Maryland; and Basil Scaljon, a nephew of San Antonio, Texas. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum, 175 Bourne Avenue, Pooler, Georgia 31322, Telephone number: (912) 748-8888. Funeral services were held at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, Memphis, Tennessee, on Monday, June 2, 2008.