As a result of his ambition, Mardikian ran away from his home and joined the Armenian volunteer units, in which his uncle, Krikor Amirian, was a high-ranking member.

In the summer of 1920, Mardikian worked with Captain Eddie Fox and George D. White of the Near East Relief organization to create an Armenian Boy Scout unit.

George D. White, whom he had met a few years earlier, told the Turkish prison commandant that Mardikian was an American and demanded his freedom.

One hour after Mardikian's ship left the port of Scutari, Turkish police knocked on Haiganoush's door demanding that they reveal the location of her son.

[7] He later stated, "As I dried myself with the thick, heavy towel, and saw my clean skin and felt my blood tingle, it was as though I had been reborn, as though I were a completely new human being, a taller, a stronger, prouder man—an American".

[1] Alongside his wife Nazenig, he opened a Fresno lunch counter called Omar Khayyam's, named after the famous Persian poet.

[1] Despite the ongoing Great Depression, customers filled his diner to enjoy his clam chowder, chili con carne, and pot roast.

In addition to finding his long-lost family, Mardikian traveled the world trying to convince Armenians to move to the United States.

[citation needed] In 1951, Mardikian was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Harry S. Truman for his work as a consultant to the Quartermaster General of the United States Army.

A portion of the citation reads, "With vigorous energy, keen powers of observation and analysis and a dynamic personality, he enlisted the enthusiastic interest of commanders and soldiers alike in the preparation and service of food under varying conditions in the combat zone.

He would go on to write and contribute to entrepreneurial and philanthropic causes, including the founding of American National Committee to Aid Homeless Armenians (ANCHA).

[12] After passing photographs of Mardikian "breaking bread" with various notable people (including Dwight Eisenhower and Eleanor Roosevelt),[13] diners would descend into the cavernous, sumptuously decorated restaurant below.

On the left at the bottom of the stairs was the Rubaiyat lounge with velvet banquettes, low Persian lamps, and a gleaming chrome cash register.

Tables in the restaurant were contained in curtained chambers out of the Arabian Nights decorated with wall-hangings and inscriptions from The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.

[1] The menu was exotic (for the time), featuring a mix of Armenian, Middle Eastern, and African cooking adapted for American palates.

[14] Mardikian also made a point to emphasize the health benefits of his homemade yogurt, which at the time was not part of an American diet.

An excerpt from the book is quoted on a wall plaque in the entrance hall to the American Adventure Pavilion at Disney's Epcot Center.