Immigrant of the Day: John Shalikashvili (Poland)

John Shalikashvili (born June 27, 1936) is a retired general of the United States Army who served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1993 to 1997. He was born in Warsaw, Poland to Georgian parents. Both of his parents fled to Poland after the occupation of Georgia by Russian SFSR in 1921.

General Shalikashvili became the only immigrant in United States history to become a general of the United States Army and rose in rank through every unit command from battalion to division.

In 1952, when John was 16, the family immigrated to Peoria, Illinois. Their sponsors and the Episcopal Church helped the Shalikashvili family get started, finding jobs and a home for them.

In May 1958, Shalikashvili and his family were sworn in as American citizens. It was the first citizenship he ever held. He had previously been a refugee who had only been classified as “stateless”, since he had been born to parents who had been refugees.

KJ