Archimedes Patti
| Archimedes L. A. Patti | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Archimedes Leonidas Attilio Patti |
| Born |
July 21, 1913 The Bronx, New York City |
| Died | April 23, 1998 (aged 84) Winter Park, Florida |
| Place of burial | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Army
|
| Years of service | 1941–1957 |
| Rank |
 Lieutenant Colonel
|
| Unit | Office of Strategic Services |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
 You may watch a biographic interview with Archimedes Patti here. |
Archimedes Leonidas Attilio Patti (July 21, 1913 – April 23, 1998) was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army and former Office of Strategic Services officer who headed OSS operations in Kunming and Hanoi in 1945. Patti is famous for having worked closely with the Viet Minh and Ho Chi Minh, leader of the Vietnamese independence movement and future president of North Vietnam.
Patti was born in the Bronx, New York City on July 21, 1913 to Sicilian immigrants. His father worked as a tailor and his mother was a dress maker.
The 1940 U.S. census lists Archimedes' profession as "Special Agent, U.S. War Department" and in 1941 he joined the U.S. Army and served in Europe. In Europe he was in contact with various anti-Axis resistance organizations including groups in North Africa, Italy and Yugoslavia.
He was later transferred to the Office of Strategic Services in China after unknowingly volunteering for the mission in January 1944 while on assignment at Anzio with William J. Donovan, the Director of the OSS.
During his career in China and Southeast Asia Patti met Ho Chi Minh, the leader of the Viet Minh and future leader and national hero of North Vietnam. In later interviews Patti explained that his mission in Vietnam was to establish an intelligence network but not to assist the French in any way as they attempted to re-gain control over their former colony, a policy choice he believed to be linked to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's belief in the self-determination of all peoples. Archimedes, did, from a distance, help organize, train and equip the fledgling Vietnamese forces Ho was uniting and marshaling against the Japanese and worked closely with Ho Chi Minh and commented on his early drafts of a Vietnamese constitution.
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Wikipedia