Boris Spiroff

Boris "Bob" Spiroff
Sergeant First Class Boris R. Spiroff, (Ret.) US Army, passed away at 2:08am on the 4th of July, after a long and distinguished career in service to his country in World War II and Korea.

Bob was born on Valentine's Day, 1920. Two years after he was born he went to his parent's Toni and Mary Spiroff's homeland of Yugoslavia to live with family and eventually made it back to Baltimore, Maryland in 1928 unable to speak English he had a sign around his neck stating who he was when his aunt picked him up and from that day forward raised him as her son. He loved his aunt especially because she looked like his mother who had passed in Yugoslavia from the Tuberculosis epidemic. He was raised with her five children and enjoyed a close relationship that was characterized more as brothers and sisters than cousins. In 1937 he joined the Army a few days after turning 17 and served in Panama. He served there until the outbreak of WWII, when he was transferred to Louisiana. While there the men trained for the Pacific Theater of Operations, until the Army swept in and grabbed him for a new outfit called the "Office of Strategic Services," now recognized as the precursor to our Special Forces, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

In 1944 he was assigned to the Balkan Operations Group of the OSS and (after going through a very hasty Airborne school in Bari, Italy) operated off of the island of Vis, in what is now Croatia. He served in the OSS until the end of the war, part of the OSS' mission to tie the Germans up in Yugoslavia and cut them with a thousand small skirmishes to whittle their numbers and morale down. He ran skirmishes and helped defend Marshall Tito from a Nazi airborne assault (Operation Rösselsprung) aimed at Tito's headquarters in Drvar, Bosnia and Herzgovinia, and he narrowly survived experiences that should have killed him! Bob barely missed a flight which crashed with no survivors (claiming a friend of his), and the man behind him on patrol was shot in the chest by German soldiers when he tripped over a rock while moving to contact.

After the war he decided to stay in, rising through the ranks until the Korean War kicked off whereupon he was a Platoon Sergeant in and then First Sergeant of G Company, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. Bob traveled to Korea and fought from 1950 until 1951, one of the few survivors of his company. Again, he survived improbably bad odds - his best friend Bill Ford was shot right in front of him on his birthday (Valentine's Day 1951) and he barely escaped death the day before. He was proud of his service in the OSS, but Korea left an indelible mark upon him.

Sergeant Spiroff finished in Korea and came home, where he stayed in the Army until 1962. After retiring from the Army Bob served as an investigator for Westinghouse until 1991, when he finally retired for good. Bob never stopped, serving as an influential member of the Korean War Veterans of Maryland (where he served on the honor guard for the dedication of the Korean War Memorial in Baltimore) and sharing his experiences with school children. He married the love of his life Catherine Elizabeth Schnitzlein on January 7, 1950, he did not only gain a wife but a second family and became more like a brother to her siblings instead of an in-law. Together Bob and Catherine raised a son, John, who helped to stand up the Maryland Coordination & Analysis Center (part of their state response to terrorism) where he served as Director, FBI Joint Terrorist Task Force. John Spiroff retired in 2016, his service to Maryland a testament to Bob's character and love passed on.

In 1962 the family moved to Severna Park. He absolutely loved Severna Park and the people that lived there, he was even known as the unofficial, "Mayor". He was a member and main usher at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church. He not only loved the people of Severna Park he loved the animals as well and often took homeless animals into his home. He was also a member of the Maryland Law Enforcement Officers, INC, Korean War Veterans Association, and the VFW, Post 40.

He considered every day a gift and lived for the day when he would be reunited with his wife, "Cassie".

He was a humble loving, and hardworking man he did not consider many of things listed in this obituary as remarkable he did not boast but his family loving created this to share as a sign of their love and appreciation for the outstanding life and service of their patriarch who did not often if ever speak of his military career because it was his honor to serve and he felt was it was nothing remarkable.

He is survived by his son, Capt. John Anthony Spiroff, (Ret) Baltimore County Police Department; granddaughter Michelle Sedlak(Jonathan); two great-grandsons, Jonathan "Mason" and Anthony "Kaden" Sedlak; sister Ann M. Tilton; sister-in-law, Betty L. Lichtenberg. He was preceded in death by his wife, parents, and five siblings.
For those who wish to memorialize Bob, flowers and/or contributions to the SPCA or Defenders of Animal Rights are welcomed and appreciated.



Below is the Full Obituary written by Bob's nephew in honor of his uncle's life. At the bottom is a link to see the full interview done on Mr. Spiroff.


This morning we lost Boris Spiroff, better known to me as Uncle Bud. He passed away at 2:08am on the 4th of July, after a long and distinguished career in service to his country in World War II and Korea.
Uncle Bud was my maternal grandfather's cousin, born on Valentine's Day, 1920. Two years after he was born he went to his parent's homeland of Yugoslavia to live with family and eventually made it back to Baltimore, Maryland in 1928 where he was raised with my grandfather as a brother. In 1937 he joined the Army a few days after turning 17 and served in Panama. He served there until the outbreak of WWII, when he was transferred to Louisiana. While there the men trained for the Pacific Theater of Operations, until the Army swept in and grabbed Uncle Bud for a new outfit called the "Office of Strategic Services," now recognized as the precursor to our Special Forces.
In 1944 Uncle Bud was assigned to the Balkan Operations Group of the OSS and (after going through a very hasty Airborne school in Bari, Italy) operated off of the island of Vis, in what is now Croatia. He served in the OSS until the end of the war, part of the OSS' mission to tie the Germans up in Yugoslavia and cut them with a thousand small skirmishes to whittle their numbers and morale down. He ran skirmishes and helped defend Marshall Tito from a Nazi airborne assault (Operation Rösselsprung) aimed at Tito's headquarters in Drvar, Bosnia and Herzgovinia, and he narrowly survived experiences that should have killed him! Uncle Bud barely missed a flight which crashed with no survivors (claiming a friend of his), and the man behind him on patrol was shot in the chest by German soldiers when Uncle Bud tripped over a rock while moving to contact.

After the war he decided to stay in, rising through the ranks until the Korean War kicked off whereupon he was a Platoon Sergeant in and then First Sergeant of G Company, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. Uncle Bud traveled to Korea and fought from 1950 until 1951, one of the few survivors of his company. Again, he survived improbably bad odds - his best friend Bill Ford was shot right in front of him on his birthday (Valentine's Day 1951) and he barely escaped death the day before. He was proud of his service in the OSS, but Korea left an indelible mark upon him.

Uncle Bud finished in Korea and came home, where he stayed in the Army until 1962. After retiring from the Army Uncle Bud served as an investigator for Westinghouse until 1991, when he finally retired for good. Uncle Bud never stopped, serving as an influential member of the Korean War Veterans of Maryland (where he served on the honor guard for the dedication of the Korean War Memorial in Baltimore) and sharing his experiences with school children. He raised a son, John, who helped to stand up the Maryland Coordination & Analysis Center (part of their state response to terrorism) where he served as Director, FBI Joint Terrorist Task Force. John Spiroff retired in 2016, his service to Maryland a testament to Uncle Bud's character and love passed on.

I saw Uncle Bud sporadically growing up, maybe once or twice a year, but the visits were always memorable - my mom Alisa Bearov Landrum made sure that we stopped by since he lived right down the road from my paternal grandparents. Uncle Bud would talk about Korea for hours, but rarely shared a word about his time in the OSS. I remember once that he told me that he didn't consider it a remarkable story...

After I came back from Korea in 2011 I saw Uncle Bud around Christmastime. We had walked some of the same earth, decades and situations apart, but the bond of service in Korea served as a powerful icebreaker as he opened up about his time in the OSS and one or two known stories became dozens more.

When Charli had a chance to meet him in 2015 he was gregarious, flirting with the waitresses at his favorite diner while finishing off several Bloody Marys, a full course of lunch, and his favorite ice cream for desert. Uncle Bud considered every day a gift and lived for the day when he would be reunited with his wife, Aunt Cassie.

I last saw Uncle Bud in early May when I went up to Maryland to visit him and my paternal grandparents prior to Brian's graduation from Law School. He was tired, gaunt, but certainly not frail - he still had the fighting spark in his eye and swore that even though his clothes were too big it was ok because he'd put the weight back on. Even though he could barely walk he made sure to walk me to his door as I was leaving. That was Uncle Bud.

Uncle Bud left the objective peacefully, in his sleep, and he lived a life well worth living. Whenever I think of Uncle Bud I am reminded of a quote from Ronald Reagan's D-Day anniversary address on June 6th, 1984:

"Where do we find them? Where do we find such men? [...] Where we've always found them in this country: On the farms, the shops, the stores, and the offices. They just are the product of the freest society the world has every known."
Uncle Bud came from an unassuming background and served his country and his community with distinction. He left an outsized mark on all who knew him, and if you want to know more about him (and read in his own words about his experiences), I recommend starting with his interview conducted by the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project:
https://memory.loc.gov/... /vhp-s... /loc.natlib.afc2001001.02029/

Uncle Bud will be sorely missed by all of us.