Harry Kizirian

Kizirian died on September 13, 2002, at age 77. His funeral procession was held at the Saint Vartanants Armenian Apostolic Church in Providence and he is buried at the Swan Point Cemetery.

On February 2, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed House Resolution 1606 which renamed the post office located at 24 Corliss Street, Providence, Rhode Island, as the Harry Kizirian Post Office Building. It was the first United States federal building named after an Armenian American. The opening ceremony was attended by Mayor Vincent Cianci, House of Representative Jack Reed, Senator John Chafee and Governor of Rhode Island Lincoln Carter Almond. The area outside the post office was named Harry Kizirian Plaza in his honor. Additionally, on May 26, 2001, the Providence City Council passed a resolution that renamed Smith Hill's Camden Avenue School after Kizirian.

In October 1994, Kizirian was honored by his own Atwood-Bucci Detachment of the U.S. Marine Corps League. The tribute was attended by Providence Mayor Vincent Cianci, Senator John Pastore, and Rhode Island governor Bruce Sundlun with letters read from Postmaster General Marvin Runyon.

In 1987, the Rhode Island Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) presented him with its John O. Stitely Distinguished Public Service Award. Upon his retirement, a special stamp cancellation showing the flag-raising on Battle of Iwo Jima was issued in his honor.

In 1986, Kizirian was removed from his position amid opposition from Senators John Chafee and Claiborne Pell. Despite protests from the employees who wore pins that said "We Love Harry", Kizirian's position was eliminated and he subsequently retired.

Kizirian received the Seven Seals Award from the Rhode Island committee of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve in recognition of his three-year term as state chairman. Rhode Island College bestowed its alumni service award on him in 1986, and he received an honorary doctorate in humanities from Roger Williams College in 1983. In May 2002, he received an honorary doctor of public service degree from Rhode Island College. The Ocean State Charities private nonprofit foundation that serves to assist other nonprofit and social service agencies throughout the state of Rhode Island has named an award after Kizirian.

Kizirian is widely known in the state of Rhode Island, where a post office, a plaza, and an elementary school are named in his honor. The Harry Kizirian Post Office became the first United States federal building named after an Armenian American. Inducted in the Rhode Island Hall of Fame in 1978, Kizirian is regarded as a "national treasure" and has been honored by numerous organizations.

He was a member of Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Past Department Commanders, the National Association of Postmasters of the United States, the Federal Executive Council (he was its first chairman), Butler Hospital's capital development committee, and the 1976 Easter Seal Telethon Committee of Meeting Street School. He served on the Rhode Island Bicentennial Commission and was general chairman of its Armenian Heritage subcommittee and a member of the Veterans Affairs subcommittee.

He was chairman of the federal department of the United Fund from 1962 to 1981, and was a former president of Local 105, National Association of Postal Supervisors, and Branch 35, National Association of Postmasters of the United States, and received numerous postal awards. He was chairman of the March of Dimes in 1962 and 1963, the February Heart Month of the Rhode Island Heart Association in 1974, the Pilot Program for the United Way of Southeastern New England 1977–1978, the Rhode Island Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, 1982–1986, and The Postman's March from 1974 through 1982. Kizirian served as a member of the Blue Cross corporation from 1972 to 1975, and was a trustee of the Ocean State Charities Trust from 1981 to 1986.

Having been awarded the Navy Cross, the Rhode Island Cross, the Bronze Star with Combat "V", and the Purple Heart twice, Kizirian is considered one of the most decorated marines of World War II. He is also the most decorated serviceman from Rhode Island. In 1961 he was appointed by John F. Kennedy as the postmaster of Providence, becoming (at age 36) one of the youngest postmasters in the United States. During his postmastership, Kizirian was instrumental in establishing the first automated post office in the country, which made the Providence post office an operational model for the United States and worldwide.

After recovering from a life-threatening illness in which surgeons removed 95 percent of his stomach, Kizirian entered a career in the Postal Service. He first returned to the Providence post office as a substitute clerk. In 1954, he was appointed foreman, the first of several promotions he received throughout his life. In 1961, he was made Postmaster of Providence by President John F. Kennedy. Congress unanimously confirmed the appointment. At age 36, Kizirian was one of the youngest postmasters in the country. During his tenure, Kizirian was instrumental in establishing the first automated post office. The Providence post office would be an exemplary model for post offices around the world. Kizirian later remarked, "There is no nation on this earth that didn't send representatives to see the new post office."

In 1947, Kizirian was awarded the Rhode Island Cross by Rhode Island Governor John Pastore for extraordinary heroism in World War II. Kizirian is one of three recipients of this medal which is the highest military award of the state of Rhode Island.

After serving seventeen months overseas, Kizirian received discharge from the Marine Corps on February 11, 1946.

The battalion commander was killed, and soon afterwards, orders arrived to seek and destroy any enemy combatants around NaHa. On June 11, 1945, Kizirian was assigned the special task of patrolling to locate elements of an enemy reserve platoon. His unit moved to attack Japanese soldiers entrenched along a ridge line. Through the smoke and dust, he noticed six stretcher bearers and a wounded Marine that were under heavy machine gun fire. Disregarding his own safety, Kizirian placed himself in the line of fire and single-handedly attacked the enemy emplacement. The Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces that confronted Kizirian shot him in the legs and abdomen. Unable to walk, he still managed to make his way forward using his elbows to a position where he was able to shoot and kill all 12 soldiers manning the machine gun. Due to these actions, Kizirian was awarded the Navy Cross, the second highest medal in the United States military. The citation provides details about the event:

During a break in fighting at Okinawa, Kizirian was photographed by a member of the press. The picture that later appeared on the cover of the June 24, 1945 issue of The New York Times Sunday Magazine. The photograph became the face of the battle for thousands of Americans.

On February 23, 1944—the day after his graduation from high school—Kizirian enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He was sent overseas on October 6, 1944, and was assigned to the 6th Marine Division

Kizirian joined the Marine Corps on February 23, 1944. He was sent overseas after training and assigned to Company E, 2nd Battalion, 22nd Marines, 6th Marine Division on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. Serving as a fire team leader, he participated in the invasion of Okinawa on April 1, 1945, landing with the first assault wave. On May 11, he charged an enemy machine gun position that had pinned down members of another unit of his platoon and forced the enemy to withdrawal so the other Marine unit could continue its advance on the enemy. Wounded during his attack on the enemy, he and his fire team joined up with the other Marine unit in its advance on the Japanese. Company E moved east the same day toward Shuri Ridge. On May 14, Company E attacked and seized the Japanese air strip, then stopped for a short rest. Kizirian's injuries on May 11 included shell fragments in his shoulders and arms. Despite his wounds he continued fighting. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V" and the Purple Heart Medal for his actions on May 11. His Bronze Star citation reads:

Harry Kizirian (Armenian: Հէրի Գիզիրեան; July 13, 1925 – September 13, 2002) was an Armenian American member of the United States Marine Corps who served during World War II. Kizirian's service lasted from February 1944 to February 1946, during which he spent seventeen months overseas. Kizirian took part in the Battle of Okinawa, where he landed during the first assault wave while heading a Marine fire team.

Kizirian, a first generation Armenian American, was born in his home on July 13, 1925, at 134 Chad Brown St. Providence, Rhode Island. He was the only son of Toros and Hripsime Kizirian, who were born in Goydun (Govdun), near Sivas, in the Ottoman Empire. Kizirian's mother came to the United States in the 1920s after losing her first husband and seven children during the Armenian genocide. His father was employed by the Rhode Island Tool Company and his mother was a housewife.