Verhovayak Lapja, 1944 (27. évfolyam, 1-52. szám)
1944 / Verhovay Journal
VOL. XXVII. DECEMBER 13, 1944 No. 50. LOSS and SACRIFICE The number of Verhovay soldiers who paid the Supreme Sacrifice has passed the mark of 100. On this third anniversary of Pearl Harbor 101 gold stars weigh down the Service Flag of the Verhovay Fraternal Insurance Association. These gold-stars represent the self-sacrifice and untimely death of brave young men, the youngest hardly 18, the oldest but 30 years old. And they also represent a loss for more than a hundred families, the heart-break of a hundred mothers, and fathers, the irreparably destroyed happiness of young wives, orphaned children, and the sorrow of thousands of relatives and friends. These young men did not want to die, they wanted to live. They did not want to kill, they wanted to bring forth a new generation. Neither one left with the intention never to return, they were all homesick boys whose thoughts were filled with the memories of their homes and their dreams of a happy future. Instead of fondling babies, they had to cajry rifles. Instead of rocking cradles, they stood watch at the big guns. They, who wanted to work for their loved ones, were sent out to kill their enemies. Their dreams and plans were shot out of the sky, shattered by grenades or sunk to the bottom of the ocean. Their tasks and their lives are finished. They served their country, and humanity, over and beyond the line of duty. They died for a great cause: the greatest that ever challenged mankind. They served this cause with an utter disregard for their own safety. Ther life was short but they lived it nobly. They may have lived but a mere twenty years, but they went through the suffering of ages. Decorations and a few letters are all that remain of them. Those decorations are symbols of the gratitude of the nation which they served to the end. But there will be more to remind us of them throughout our lives. The peace that shall follow this bloody war will be a monument to their self-sacrifice and heroism. Wherever in this world people breath freely, they will bless the memory of those who gave their lives so that they may be free. We pray that the world may never forget the high price of that peace and never permit a nation to start another war. If that hope comes true, they will not have died in vain for they will have created a new and better world. All this cannot comfort fully the fathers, mothers and wives of these heroes. The glory with which a son died, cannot replace him to his mother. His decorations will never bring back the sweet smile that death has wiped off his face. His sacrifice is her loss. Fathers, mothers and wives cannot be expected to feel their loss redeemed by the gloriousness of their beloved one’s death. Their sorrow is greater than all glory, their sadness is deeper than human comfort. Theirs is a disappointment for which there is no compensation. Even though they resign themselves to their loss, they don’t do so because they were glad to give up their sons and husbands. No father and no mother gives up a child willingly. These fathers and mothers and wives would have died themselves rather than see their beloved ones precede them on the w'ay of all flesh. Their resignation is born out of helplessness and frustration. They did not give up their sons but suffered having them taken away from them. They feel robbed of their most precious possession. And by that loss their life collapsed in senselessness. They ask: “Why bear children if they are to be taken away? Why watch over them with ever growing love only to lose them in the prime of their youth? Why bring them up if they have to die so soon?” These bitter questions of the disappointed soul are justified, understandable and, yet, there are some comforting realities left to which the mind may rise if it is willing to shed the bitterness of frustration. For even though death may take away what we have, it cannot take away what we HAD. Those young husbands have died, but even their death cannot wipe out the happiness their wives had with them. Those sons have gone, but the joy of their birth, the happiness that filled their parents’ hearts when they started to walk... when the first words came from their lips... that has not gone with them. Nothing can take away the happiness they had enjoyed while these young men where with them. That happiness was a REALITY at that time, and while it lasted it made their life rich. And the fact that such happiness was taken away from them does not destroy the happiness of those years and it docs not transform that joy into a dream that has never been true. He who had a son for 18 years, had 18 years of pride and happiness in him. He who had his love for 30 years, had that much more happiness. And that happiness is preserved by the mind that stores all memories. And to these memories the soul may return and if it can do so without bittemess, it will be refreshed and comforted by them. No father is poorer because of having had a son for whom he worried and worked. He had known the joys of fatherhood, even if it lasted only for a short time. No mother is poorer because of having born and loved a son, even if she lost him later. She had known the happiness of motherhood and that no one can take away from her. The disappointment of his death should be sublimated into gratitude for his life. While we mourn for them, let us be thankful for their life that was our joy while it lasted. The bitterness of frustration does not solve the tragedies of life. They are solved only by the sense of gratitude that does not forget the joyful realities of the past just because they are lost for the present and for the future. The reason why human beings do not disintegrate under the burden of their tragedies is because subconsciously their mind counterbalances the loss of the present by the memories of past happiness. Those memories are realities because once they were actual facts. The rebelling heart may deny it because it is not conscious of the fact that the subconscious mind draws strength for the dark present from the light past. There would be nothing to balance the mind if the tragic present would wipe out the happiness that was. Knowing this, we can bring this, our only source of comfort, out of the hidden depths of the subconscious to the surface of our consciousness. And reminding ourselves of the fact that no matter how much we have lost, we still had actual happiness while it was ours, -we can cover our sorrow with gratitude for the past favors of life and, thereby, find the way to PEACEFUL RESIGNATION. With such sense of peaceful resignation that grows out of the gratitude’ for the lives of these young men, we part with the 101 Verhovayans who have sacrificed themselves. 98. 1ST LT. STEVEN BARTO 1st Lt. Steven Barto is the 98th heroic dead of our Association. He was a member of Branch 247, Clune, Pa. He served with. the Marine Air Force and was reported killed in action by the War Department in a letter dated November 29, 1943. His parents could not believe the sad report. It took them a year to resign themselves to the inevitable and to report his death. 99. 1ST LT. PAUL KISH He was born in Tekehaza, Hungary on June 7, 1920. A first generation immigrant, he served faithfully and loyally his adopted country. He, too, served with the Air Force. A year ago he participated in aerial action in the Solomons on a B-24D Liberator. Not far from Choiseul Island the plane got into fog. In order to avoid collision, the pilot suddenly pulled up the plane, employing evasive tactic. The motors died and the plane crashed into the sea. The crew was reported missing and a year later announcement of their death has been bade. 100. SGT. FRANK N. ZSERDIN The picture of the 100th heroic dead Verhovayan appears on this page. He was a member of Branch 90, Allentown, Pa., and is the second heroic dead member of this branch. In his last letter he informed his parents that he may be with them for Christmas. Happily they prepared for his return. Instead, a wire arrived from the War Department informing his parents that he was killed in action on Peleliu island. 101. MARTIN MÉSZÁROS Martin Mészáros was born on January 25th, 1914 in McAdoo, Pa. His father, Martin Mészáros, Sr., is the manager of Branch 11, of McAdoo, Pa. The War Department informed him that his son was killed in action on October 29th, in France. He left behind, in addition to his parents, his wife, Theresa. We express our deepest sympathy to the families of our heroic dead. May the memories of their beloved ones comfort them in their loss. THE HEMORY OF OUR 101 HEROIC DEAD SHALL REMAIN WITH US FOR EVER.
