Magyar News, 2005. szeptember-december (16. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2005-09-01 / 1. szám
The Hungarian Alex Kvassay is a Globetrotting Survivor Threats of death and imprisonment, secret work for military intelligence, and globetrotting all over the world make the goal of'just trying to survive" a realistic one for Hungarian Alex Kvassay. "1 come from a race of professional survivors," he said. "Hungary in its eleven hundred years of history has endured devastation by the Turks, the Hapsburgs, Hitler, and Soviet domination." To many, Kvassay's successful aviation career was a result of hard, set goals and a disciplined self-strategy focus - but he swears it was just happenstance. That career allowed Kvassay many memorable experiences, like rubbing elbows with Dr. Albert Schweitzer, who gave him a tour of his clinic, King Hussein of Jordan, who purchased seven planes in one sitting, Alexander and Aristotle Onassis, who called Kvassay direct for a demonstration of the Learjet, Sheik Mohammed Bin Laden of Saudi Arabia, whose younger son Osama would eventually terrorize the United States. Now at age 78, Kvassay reports that he never had a plan to become an American citizen, much less become a prominent aviation executive, with careers at Beech Aircraft Corp, Learjet, Canada Air, and ultimately owning his own company. He was raised in Budapest, Hungary, more precisely the Buda part of Budapest. Life in Budapest was reliable, comfortable and peaceful, and the thought of leaving never entered Kvassay's mind. Even at the start of World War II in 1939, food and gasoline were plentiful and life was quiet, Alex Kvassay displays the American flag at the North Pole, later he did the same at the South Pole. Above: Alex Kvassay keeps track of his world travel on the map seen behind him. He says he is not finished yet. Below: His graduation picture of 1944 from the Emperor Franz Joseph School devoid of air raids. But by March 1944, when the Germans moved into Hungary with military force and American bombers were on their doorstep, high school student Kvassay began to learn about survival. Rationing began, bombing raids started, and life instantly changed. Things got worse. By Christmas Eve, the Russians broke through the German lines and invaded Budapest. The Kvassay family moved underground to the housekeeper's modest four-room quarters, along with 60 other people, for safety. There was no electricity or water, and food was scarce. The Kvassay's were more fortunate than most to have a supply of canned goods, but even so that soon ran out. "Many army horses were killed in combat," said Kvassay, "and when one fell we would race into the street with knives and carve meat for dinner. At the time it tasted like filetmignon." Alex and his brother Gene encountered a host of experiences with the Germans and Russians. "Once when a, German patrol entered the house to look for deserters, six of us of draft age scrambled across a high wall and into the next building and back when the coast was clear," said Kvassay. "I looked at that wall later and wondered how on earth we made it. Another time, a German parachute fell on the house spilling a canister of mortar shells that fell all over the place. Two of us carefully carried them two at a time to the backyard hoping they wouldn’t explode in our hands. We were very lucky." Under Russian occupation, Kvassay tells about a time that the Russians used all the civilian manpower they could find to build barricades to keep out the Germans. "We were awaiting orders in a school yard when my brother, Gene, saw a hole in the stone fence and decided we could escape. As we were making our escape, I heard bullets whizzing by, quickly gave up the plan and turned to face a Russian soldier with a rifle aimed. Just as we held our hands in the air, we heard a click. Nothing. He had forgotten to reload." Espionage Post war, Hungary lived under a make-believe democratic government with semi-communists in control. Kvassay entered the Pázmány Peter Law School of Budapest and worked full time at the Hungarian Liaison Office, a division under the Allied Control Commission, which took care of housing, furniture, and other needs of American, British, French and Soviet military. He spoke three languages at this time, but not English, so he studied old Readers Digests, which the Americans gave him, and taught himself, but it was difficult. "At a farewell party for General George H. Weems, departing American Military Mission chief, I had to interpret his parting words to the Hungarian employees. I could not understand a word, he said, so just improvised my own version of what I thought a parting General would say, which was received well by everyone except an American officer of Hungarian origin. He voiced that my translation was not bad considering it bore no resemblance to the general’s remarks, remembers Kvassay. (continued on page 4) Page 3
