AHEPA, Delphi Chapter 25, and the story behind the beloved bust of our Brother President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Originally presented at the 2025 AHEPA Family District 6 Conference on June 7, 2025

by Brother Ilias Katsos, Past Delphi President and AHEPA District 6 Governor, in the Rose Garden of the FDR Presidential Library and Museum

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Thank you for the honor of offering a brief presentation today on this special occasion—on AHEPA, Delphi Chapter 25 & FDR and the story behind the beloved bust of our Brother President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, here at Hyde Park, near his final resting place.

The path that led FDR to AHEPA begins with a remarkable man—Ulius Louis Amoss. Before his name became linked with American intelligence, Amoss served as National Secretary for the International Committee of the YMCA in Greece. His deep engagement with Hellenic causes ultimately brought him into contact with a central figure in our story: Dean Alfange.

In 1926, during a fundraising trip for the YMCA in Greece, Ulius met Alfange in New York. At the time, Alfange—a dynamic attorney and gifted orator—was President and a founding member of Delphi Chapter #25, and a year later AHEPA’s Supreme President (from 1927 to 29). Their meeting proved pivotal. Alfange became a bridge between AHEPA and the philanthropic work of Ulius in Greece. Later, when Amoss relocated permanently to the U.S., he founded the North Atlantic Committee of Friendship and Cooperation with Greece and appointed Alfange as its chairman.

The Committee’s purpose was clear: to recruit prominent, Philhellenic Americans to the cause. Among its most active members were Amoss, Alfange, Ery Kehaya—a major Hellenic American businessman and philanthropist—and Charles S. Peabody, a prominent New York architect.

Peabody brought in an old friend and Harvard classmate—Franklin Delano Roosevelt—then rising in American politics. By 1928, FDR had been elected Governor of New York. Amoss, Kehaya, and Peabody—now bonded by friendship and Philhellenic purpose—often met with him at the Governor’s Mansion. Eventually, all three—Amoss, Kehaya, and Peabody—joined Delphi Chapter #25.

Then came a defining moment:

On May 2, 1930, Amoss (who later also became the President of Delphi in 1932) , writing as a fellow Brother of Delphi, sent FDR a note inviting him to join AHEPA. He mentioned that Peabody was also joining. FDR’s response was vintage Roosevelt:

“If Charles Peabody can become as good a Greek as that, I can too.”

And so, on March 11, 1931, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, then Governor of New York, was initiated into Delphi Chapter #25 in his Executive Chamber at the State Capitol in Albany. The delegation included Delphi’s then-President, James D. Jameson.

FDR remained a dues-paying, active member for the rest of his life—14 years. The connection between him and AHEPA was not symbolic—it was substantive, especially during the Second World War.

In an April 25, 1941 meeting with the AHEPA Supreme Lodge at the White House, Roosevelt praised the valor of Greece’s resistance:

“The heroic struggle of the Greek people to defend their liberties and their homes against the aggression of Germany after they had so signally defeated the Italian attempt at invasion has stirred the hearts and aroused the sympathy of the whole American people.”

After Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt created the Office of the Coordinator of Information, appointing William Donovan as Chief. He then brought in Ulius Amoss as Director of the Balkan Desk. It was Amoss who first conceptualized the Greek Irregular Project, which sought to organize Hellenic American volunteers for operations in Nazi-occupied Greece.

Later, when the Office of Strategic Services (OSS)—precursor to the CIA—was established, Amoss recruited AHEPA Supreme President George C. Vournas into the Foreign Nationalities Branch. It was a Hellenic network rooted in loyalty, patriotism, and strategy.

In January 1943, FDR signed an executive order establishing the 122nd Infantry Battalion, a U.S. Army unit meant to support operations in occupied Greece. The name honored 122 years since the start of Greek Independence in 1821.

Its commanding officer?

Major Peter (Panayiotis) Clainos, a Sparta-born West Point graduate and co-founder of the Sons of Pericles which is celebrating its 100th Anniversary in February, 2026. He had been recruited into the force by Supreme President Vournas.

Other operational group members were drawn in by OSS agent Harry Lagoudakis, and some say they used the AHEPA Constitution as a cipher for sending encoded messages behind enemy lines. It’s not myth—it’s a hidden chapter of AHEPA’s proud contribution to the war effort.

Now, to the bust.

On March 10, 1943, AHEPA presented FDR with a bronze bust, sculpted by Walter Russell. Titled The War President, it stood on a red granite base and was destined for installation at the new Presidential Library in Hyde Park. That day, at the White House, smaller replicas were presented for his personal use.

The full-size bust and base were delivered on April 3, 1945—just a week before FDR’s death. He was present for its arrival.

However the formal unveiling was postponed until October 28, 1945—symbolically, OXI Day. During the dedication ceremony—attended by Mrs. Roosevelt, Delphi Chapter members, the sculptor, and more—Archbishop Athenagoras, soon to become Ecumenical Patriarch, offered a trisagion memorial prayer for the departed President. AHEPA’s Supreme President Harris F. Booras laid a wreath on his grave.

Today, that bust stands as more than bronze and stone. It is the story of friendships forged in faith, loyalty, and love of Hellenism—between Roosevelt, Amoss, Alfange, and the men of Delphi.

Ζήτω η Ελλάς.

Ζήτω το Έθνος.

God Bless America. Thank you.