Patrick Zilliacus was born May 11, 1926. Patrick’s father was of Swedish/Russian Grand Duchy ancestry: he served up to 1918 and was awarded numerous medals. Patrick attended many Finnish schools and played hockey and soccer and skied; from age 12-16 he was a member of the Junior National Guard. During the winter war, Helsinki was bombed when Patrick was age 13. His parents divorced during this time, and Patrick and his brother and mother moved to Brooklyn. Patrick’s first school was PS8 in Brooklyn. Patrick did not graduate from high school; however, he enrolled in the prestigious Sidwell Friends School in Washington. Patrick was 15 when Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan. Not long after his father was ordered out of the U.S., so Patrick and his mother had to make their own way. Patrick worked several jobs, including at the US Steel mill in Gary, Indiana and when a friend went to the local draft board Patrick joined him and lied about his age and citizenship – suddenly he was in the US Navy! Patrick attended Great Lakes boot camp. He was enrolled for submarine skills and torpedo school and was at the top of his class – until they found out that he lied about his background. A LCDR decided to send him to the Bureau of Naturalization, and Patrick became a US citizen. LTJG Zilliacus (6’2” 140 lbs.) became a plank owner on Spot (SS-413) nicknamed “Bugger All.” He served aboard for 1.5 years, and his Skipper (CO) was Cmdr. “Wild Bill” Post. Patrick manned six torpedoes, and he often slept in the forward torpedo room. Patrick was still on Spot at war’s end; then the atomic bomb was dropped, and at that time he was not far from Nagasaki. He was discharged and returned to the US in December 1945 at San Diego. By that time he was a LTJG and received an Honorable Discharge. Patrick said it was easy to become a civilian again. He found work with the Beechnut Chewing Gum Co. in Brooklyn and later used the GI Bill for college, earning a Mechanical Engineering Degree from the University of MD; other degrees followed. Patrick also married in 1947, and he started his family in 1952. Crestwood students were fortunate to zoom with him in August 2026.
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