The Descriptive Finding Guide for the John Armen Torigian Personal Papers SDASM.SC.10203

AR
San Diego Air and Space Museum Library and Archives
2001 Pan American Plaza, Balboa Park
San Diego 92101


Language of Material: English
Contributing Institution: San Diego Air and Space Museum Library and Archives
Title: John Armen Torigian Personal Papers
Identifier/Call Number: SDASM.SC.10203
Physical Description: .25 Cubic Feet The collection contains two archival file folders, one containing miscellaneous official documents and personal items relating to Torigian's service in the U.S. Navy from 1915 to 1945. The second folder contains 102 black and white print photographs, most of which are not captioned or otherwise identified. Torigian's blue Navy dress blouse with rating chevron and service hash marks, sans ribbons and medals, has been turned over to SDASM Curatorial Department.
 The collection consists of one gray archival flip-top box, 2-1/2 x 15-1/4 x 10-1/4
Date (bulk): bulk
Abstract: The collection contains two archival file folders, one containing miscellaneous official documents and personal items relating to Torigian's service in the U.S. Navy from 1915 to 1945. The second folder contains 102 black and white print photographs, most of which are not capti
Abstract: 
 John Armen Torigian was born January 22, 1894 in Armenia, then part of the Ottoman Empire. His family immigrated to the United States around the turn of the century and settled in Massachusetts. In 1911, after completing sixth grade, his highest level of formal schooling, John went to work at the Knox Automobile Company of Springfield as an apprentice toolmaker, remaining there until 1915. While with Knox, he attended night classes in mechanical drawing and machine shop practices.
 Torigian enlisted in the Navy on 7 December 1915 and served until 1919 as a Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class (MM2C). He briefly reentered civilian life but rejoined the Navy, serving 15-1/2 years from 1920 to 1936. During this time, he was promoted to MM1C and then Aviation Chief Machinist’s Mate (ACMM), serving in land-based and shipboard aviation squadrons. In September 1937 he was transferred to Fleet Reserve with an F4D classification denoting 20 or more years of service. He was recalled to active duty on 15 June 1941 and served in various shore-based installations as a PA (Permanent Appointment) for the duration of the war, including in the Overhaul and Repair Departments at NAS Alameda and Pearl Harbor where he supervised up to 25 “experts” overhauling and rehabilitating defective or damaged aircraft hydraulic units.
 Torigian was placed on the retired list on 9 November 1945. His separation form noted that, as an Advanced Aviation Machinist’s Mate with supervisorial training, he was “a good tool maker, lathe man and general machine shop worker.” He received several letters of recommendation from former superior officers with whom he had worked at the aforementioned installations. His post-war activities are not well documented; however, he is known to have worked as an aircraft mechanic at NAS San Diego (North Island) in late 1948.
 SC. 10203
 2
 A resident of Coronado, California, for many years, John Torigian died in Balboa Naval Hospital on 31 January 1964, just days after his 70th birthday. He was survived by his wife of many years, Arisog Boghosian Torigian, and is buried in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.
Physical Description: Description: The collection consists of one gray archival flip-top box, 2-1/2 x 15-1/4 x 10-1/4
 inches.
 Content notes: The collection contains two archival file folders, one containing miscellaneous official documents and personal items relating to Torigian's service in the U.S. Navy from 1915 to 1945. The second folder contains 102 black and white print photographs, most of which are not captioned or otherwise identified. Torigian's blue Navy dress blouse with rating chevron and service hash marks, sans ribbons and medals, has been turned over to SDASM Curatorial Department.

Conditions Governing Use

The collection is open to research by appointment. Some restrictions may apply.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The materials in this collection were donated to the San Diego Air & Space Museum in 2017.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Alaskan Aviation
Alaskan Aerial Survey
USS Langley (CV-1)
Torigian, John Armen

 

Series I: Personal Documents

Physical Description: Folder 1 -- Military and Personal Documents 1. Trades and Skilled Occupations Application, 4/27/36. 2. Standard Transfer Order, 2/17/44. 3. Hospital Ticket, 8/31/45. 4. Request for Report on Loyalty Data. 5. Notice of Separation from the U.S. Naval Service, 11/9/45. 6. Four letters of recommendation from prior military supervisors. 7. Letter from Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal, 12/4/45. 3 8. Letter from U.S. Naval Hospital advising Mrs. Arisog Torigian of the death of her husband, February 5, 1964. 9. Personal documents: letter from Archie D. Giragossian, February 8, 1932, why he cannot repay loan on liberty bonds (handwritten, 8 pages); Order for parents headstones, March 7, 1944; Property tax receipt, 1947; Release of Inheritance Tax Lien, January 31, 1964; two award ribbons from Coronado Floral Association, 1939.
 

Series II: Photographs

Physical Description: Folder 2 -- Photographs, including 1. Panama, personnel and places, WWI era. 2. Alaska, aerial landscapes, candid photos of aircraft, vessels and personnel, bear cub mascot. 3. U.S. Army Douglas World Cruiser. 4. Seated portrait of Torigian in Navy uniform with wife and father-in-law, circa 1920s. 5. Naval air operations, formal group personnel portraits, and places in which Torigian served. 6. USS Langley (CV-1) and Lexington (CV-2). 7. Shipboard aviation operations, including miscellaneous images of 1930s Navy aircraft. 8. Torigian's Armenian-born countryman, Arteen "Harry" Ekizian (1901-1981), with whom Torigian served aboard ship in the 1920s or early 1930s. He was a champion wrestler of the U.S. Navy. The powerfully-built Ekizian defeated all comers of the world's navies and was acknowledged as the world champion Navy wrestler. As a four-time world heavyweight wrestling champion in the late 1930s, Ekizian enjoyed a successful civilian wrestling career as the Fez-adorned "Ali Baba." Two images of Ekizian during his Navy service show him (1) in cook's working uniform standing in a formation of men on the deck of an aircraft carrier, and (2) an 8" x 10" candid photo of the shirtless Ekizian bedecked with numerous medals for his wrestling achievements.