the Heritage party. Sebouh (Steve) Tashjian, a California Armenian originally from Jerusalem, served as Minister of Energy, while Lebanese-born Gerard Libaridian, a Boston-based historian, was President Levon Ter-Petrosyan's adviser. Military Monte Melkonian, a native of California, was a prominent leader of Armenian forces during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. He was posthumously awarded with National Hero of Armenia title. During World War II, about 18,500 Armenians served in the armed forces of the United States. A number of them were decorated for their service, including Col. Ernest Dervishian, a native of Virginia, who was awarded the Medal of Honor. US Marine Harry Kizirian is considered the most decorated soldier of the state of Rhode Island. Another Marine captain, Victor Maghakian is considered one of the most decorated American soldiers of the war. The highest-ranking Armenian-American during World War II was Brigadier General Haig Shekerjian (who had previously served in the Pancho Villa Expedition and as an American military attache in the Middle Eastern theater of World War I). He was appointed commanding general of Camp Sibert, Alabama, which was used extensively as the main training camp for chemical warfare troops, and remained in that position until 1945. Shekerjian also gave numerous speeches during the war encouraging Americans of Armenian descent to enlist. Several major figures in the Armenian national liberation movement of the early 20th century lived and/or died in the US. Among them were Andranik Ozanian, a military commander who is considered a national hero among Armenians, who lived in Fresno, California from 1922 and died in California in 1927. Another notable military commander, Garegin Nzhdeh, lived in Boston, Massachusetts from 1933 to 1937, where he founded the Armenian Youth Federation. Drastamat Kanayan (Dro), the Defense Minister of Armenia from 1918 to 1919, lived in America after World War II and was shortly arrested for collaborating with the Nazis. His funeral ceremony was held in Trinity Church in the City of Boston in 1956. Shahan Natalie, a Dashnak activist, organized the Operation Nemesis in the early 1920s, during which numerous Armenian Genocide perpetrators were murdered. From 1910 to 1912 he studied at the Boston University and died in Watertown, Massachusetts in 1983. Sports Perhaps the best-known American athlete of Armenian descent is tennis player, former no. 1 Andre Agassi. Armenian-born chess players Tatev Abrahamyan and Varuzhan Akobian have represented the US in Chess Olympiad. The first ever Armenian Olympic medalist,