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Born in Dorchester Mass
Robert Francis Callahan -
Growing up
27 Ticonderoga Road. 4 siblings, and 2 parents. Irish neighborhood in a duel family house with 2 doors. Money was a relative issue. The last child of 5. mother was Helen, father Denis, father did not go to college but went to an accounting school. -
Grade School in dorchester
He tested into Boston Latin School. Went there throughout high school. -
Attended Harvard
Papi was accepted to Harvard at the age of 17 and began taking courses with a major in a foreign language. At his time at Boston Latin, he had already studied Latin, French, and Spanish. -
Meets His future wife
While at the Longwood Cricket Club in Chestnut Hill Mass, he met Julie O'Connell. While not important to his life story, he had never played tennis before, so his motives for being at the Club in the first place are volatile. -
Application Process
The military identified him potential prospect, ultimately becoming an intelligence field officer for the OSS (Office of Strategic Services), which was the predecessor agency for the CIA. The OSS had a mandate to collect and analyze strategic information requested by the JCS and to conduct unconventional and paramilitary operations. -
Sent to University of Cal Berkeley
He was sent there for intensive language training in Chinese and Vietnamese for only a 6 month period. This was in order to aptly train him for his future work with the (OSS). -
Sent to the "Asian Theatre"
This meant that he was sent to China, Vietnam, and India. military Term. his purpose was to identify local military intelligence and send it back to Washington D.C. He (*intelligence agency for the US military) was a sharpshooter. -
Meets Ho Chi Minh
He was the Prime Minister of Vietnam. Papi referred to this as a highlight of his military career. His order was to relay information back to the U.S. He was speaking Vietnamese in order to properly communicate with Foreign leaders and to be able to get information himself in the field. -
Volenteered for Mission
Papi volunteered for a mission that involved attaching a bomb onto a ship of one of the U.S. adversaries in Japan. He willingly took the mission because since he had very little to give up at home, and little family, he was comfortable with the task. -
Ended his service to Graduate
He ended his service in early 1945 and went back to Harvard that year to Graduate. -
Business Degree
He followed his graduating year by attending Babson Colege to receive his business certificate (similar to an MBA degree) -
Julie
Her father at the time, Daniel T. O'Connell, was a judge for the Massachusetts superior court. He was then asked to serve as a judge at the Nurenburg Trials. She also grew up in Newton, relatively where the Boston College campus lies. -
Move to New York
Papi caused the move because of his job at an import-export company. (While not verified, the family believes his service to the OSS/CIA continued at this time) -
Marriage
After two years, Robert and Julie got married. -
Starting a Family
Because Julie was exposed to the German Measles, she was told she would not be able to have children. And then went on to have seven. (4 boys, 2 girls) -
Moved to Kansas
Again, the move was pushed through his new job by joining Phillips. This was a large global company, based in The Netherlands. -
Move to Connecticut
While maintaining his work at Phillips, he along with the family was relocated to Connecticut in order for him to maintain his job in New York. Based in 100 East 42nd St, across from Grand Central Station. -
Working with FBI
He now worked as the President of Phillips dental in Shelton CT. At the time, he was contacted by the FBI and informed that drugs were being trafficked from Phillips products made in Latin America, and being shipped to the U.S. He was asked to work with the FBI, which included a wearing bulletproof vest to work and they had installed a silent alarm button underneath his desk. This lead to a successful drug bust in his company. -
Sad Times
Papi's Wife Julie and eldest daughter Marian passed away in the same year. -
Elder Adventures
Throughout retirement, Papi traveled a great deal around the world. He was quite involved with a Catholic organization called The Knights of Malta,(Founded in 1099 in Jeruselum, and still exists today), in part of his service trips with the group to Malta in support of the Catholic charities. -
Next Phase
After dating for a while, Papi eloped. He married a woman named Mary Agnus (Aggie) Kiernan who also had seven with approximately the same age range as his children. While there was no family at the wedding, there were in fact 7 priests on the altar. -
The Ultimate Grandfather
He hosted regular family reunions with his children and grandchildren in Cape Cod each summer. This is said to be where he was at his happiest. -
End of the Story
Papi died in Osterville Mass, after having a large dinner with many of his best friends and died in his sleep at the age of 79.
