Christos arrived in this country as an immigrant, as at least in part an outsider and a “foreigner,” and took the name of one of his uncles: Harry Tselios. Christos visited his uncle in New York City and then went to visit another uncle in Michigan… and 60 years later he is still yet to re-board that ship.
However, after three years of constant travel, in 1950, he decided to spend a 29-day leave in the United States. Our young sailor traveled the world, visiting ports of call in France, Spain, Russia, Germany, and the Caribbean. Christos lost his father as a young child and when he turned 16, his wealthy and well-connected uncle found him a position as a chief steward in the Merchant Marine. Christos Pasaportis was born on December 25th, 1930, in a small town in Greece. The history of the Flame is an odyssey, one that started in the late 1940s, with a young Greek sailor in the Merchant Marine.
