George Polk

George Polk
George Polk, circa 1943
Born	George W. Polk (1913-10-17)October 17, 1913 Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Died	ca. May 15, 1948(1948-05-15) (aged 34) Greece
Occupation	Journalist
Notable credit(s)	Columbia Broadcasting System
Spouse(s)	Rea Coccins

George Polk (17 October 1913, Fort Worth, Texas – May 1948) was an American journalist for CBS who was murdered during the Greek Civil War, in 1948.

During World War II, Polk enlisted with a Naval Construction Battalion. After the invasion of Guadalcanal, the first element of Construction Unit Base 1 (CUB-1), an advance fuel and supply base, landed on 16 August 1942. This element was commanded by Ensign George W. Polk, USNR, and consisted of five officers and 118 enlisted personnel, all navy petty officers of aviation support ratings. CUB-1 later received a Presidential Unit Citation for its service. Polk also performed duty as a "volunteer" dive bomber and reconnaissance pilot. He was wounded, suffered from malaria and was hospitalized for almost a year.

Polk disappeared in Greece and was found dead a few days later on Sunday 16 May 1948, shot at point-blank range in the back of the head, and with hands and feet tied. Polk had been covering the civil war in Greece between the right wing government and communists and had been critical of both sides. He had also alleged that a few officials in the Greek government had embezzled $250,000 in foreign aid ($2.5 million in 2016 dollars) from the Truman Administration, a charge that was never proved. Polk had been particularly outspoken in his criticism of the Truman government's unqualified support for the rightist authoritarian regime in Greece.

In the late 1970s, the story emerged as to how AMAG (American Mission for Aid to Greece) authorities helped the Greek police frame two young communists for his death. A communist journalist, Gregorios Staktopoulos, was tried and convicted of helping Vaggelis Vasvanas and Adam Mouzenidis, members of the illegal communist army, commit the murder. The communist guerilla radio station claimed that Adam Mouzenidis was already dead, having been killed in an aerial bombing by the Hellenic Air Force, when Polk was murdered. Staktopoulos himself maintained that the confession that led to his conviction was obtained through torture. In fact, it was later revealed that Adam Mouzenidis had arrived at Salonica, where he was allegedly introduced to Polk, two days after Polk's murder, and Vasvanas was not in Greece at the time. An investigation by James G.M. Kellis (also known as Killis), a former OSS officer with knowledge of Greek political circles and power brokers, concluded that Greek communist circles lacked the power and influence to commit the murder and cover it up. Kellis worked on contract for the Wall Street law firm of William 'Wild Bill' Donovan, the former head of OSS, who was hired by journalist Walter Lippman to investigate the case. Following Kellis' conclusion that it was more likely Polk had been murdered by right-wing groups within or affiliated to the Greek government, the investigation was halted and Kellis recalled to Washington. At the time the US government was financially supporting the Greek government to prevent a communist take-over of the country. The British government had supported the Greek government throughout 1941-1945, but this became an financial impossibility after the war.