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George Sirian (1818–December 21, 1891) was a Greek war orphan〔(Turkish Stone Shot, Norfolk Naval Shipyard ), NNSY website. Retrieved 9 November 2008. 〕 brought into the United States aboard the ("Old Ironsides"). He served in the United States Navy with distinction for over fifty years, first as an ordinary seaman, and later as a master gunner and warrant officer. ==Biography== Sirian was born in 1818 on the Greek island of Psara. During the Greek War of Independence, at age six, he witnessed the slaughter of his native Greek countrymen at the hands of Ottoman Turks. His mother was able to rescue him by placing him on a boat which was heading out to sea, escaping the onslaught of Ottoman troops, before she was killed herself. Rescued by United States Navy observers sent there by President James Monroe, the young refugee spent the next three years serving as either a cabin boy or powder monkey. This way the crew was able to keep him aboard with unofficial duties until he was of legal age to enlist in the Navy on his own. In these ''unofficial'' positions, Sirian was able to enlist in the Navy a few years later aboard the USS ''Constitution'', which had periodically patrolled the area for years. The ship had been near Chios during the earlier part of the fighting between the Turks and Greeks. Its captain had orders not to interfere in the Greek struggle with the Ottoman Turks and was not allowed to shelter refugees. The only way that Sirian could remain aboard was by joining the Navy. He remained in the American Naval Forces for 53 years - possibly the second-longest term of enlistment in U.S. history. (The longest serving enlisted military man was Chief Torpedoman Harry Simmon Morris, who served 55 years on active duty.) During the American Civil War Sirian distinguished himself as a gunnery instructor at the United States Naval Academy. Sirian was the only man to serve aboard the ''Constitution'' on three separate tours of duty. He died in Portsmouth, Virginia in 1891. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「George Sirian」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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