Amory Sommaripa

Diary of a Mad Russian: a Tribute to Alexis Sommaripa 1900-1945 Amory Sommaripa

Alexis Sommaripa was born to minor nobility in pre-Revolutionary Russia and his diary describes the next forty years of his life. Using proceeds from his brother's stamp collection he escaped from "Mother" Russia to Boston. There, he fell in love and married a Bostonian widow with three little daughters. Meanwhile, he changed careers, sped through Harvard with a business degree and got a job at DuPont researching textiles. Though neither alcohol nor cigarettes attracted him, this flirtatious, dashing charmer had a weakness for women that eventually destroyed his marriage. With the start of WWII Alexis' desperate search to join the war ended when he was assigned to the newly formed Office of Strategic Services. Later, the Army took a chance by making him the only civilian in command of a tank. Using German through the tank's loudspeaker he convinced thousands of Nazi soldiers to surrender to him. His reckless bravery earned him the nickname "The Mad Russian" and he and then-Colonel Creighton Abrams thundered across Europe until Alexis was killed in action in 1945. Awarded the Bronze Star, Silver Star and Croix de Guerre posthumously, he is the only civilian buried in the American Cemetery in Luxembourg.