Verhovayak Lapja, 1945 (28. évfolyam, 1-52. szám)
1945 / Verhovay Journal
Page 2 Verhovay Journal-March 5, 1945 ONE OF THE MOST MEMORABLE EVENTS IN VERHOVAY HISTORY LOCHLION HAMP 39*. New York, N. Y. (Continued from Page 1) One by one, the names were called . . . “Andrew Miskiv . . . John Kurtzman . . . Joseph Kovach . . . Hamp Lochlion . . . Valentine Hűlik . . .” One by one the portraits were unveiled... Amazing creations of true art they are . . . one had the feeling that these young men may step out of the frames and talk to their loved ones whose hearts were torn between joy of recognition and the pain of loss . . . Their quiet sobs trembled through every heart... In a few moments the audience became one great sorrowing family . . . there were tears in the eyes of all aád the sorrow of mourning families became the sorrow of all present. ■ (One mishap spoiled somewhat the effect of this occasion. Valentine Hulik’s portrait didn’t arrive and a photo-copy of his portrait was placed on the board, instead. The Supreme Officers and a member of the Committee called on the family that day and explained that the portrait, sent to New York a week before, was missing. Valentine Hulik's family, however, showed no resentment . . . thirty members of this great family attended the banquet. Fortunately, the portrait finally arrived and was duly delivered to this family which is to be commended for displaying rpal fraternal understanding in meeting this disappointment.) ; A deep silence followed the unveiling of the portraits . . . then solemnly the entire audience arose and paid silent tribute to the seven Verhovayans . . . f Mr. Bencze turned then and faced the audience, ike struggled hard for words ... It was heart-rending to face these mourning families seeing how their eyes jvere turning again and again to the portraits of the loved ones to be filled with tears whenever they looked at them. At last the Supreme ‘ President spoke . . . Now he was just a brother who addressed the heartbroken families with the softly spoken words of affectionate gentleness. He asked them to accept these portraits as a gift «f the Verhovay Fraternal Insurance Association, the 52,000 members of which desired to present them in these portraits with a lasting token of brotherly sym__ly and understanding. His words sounded like a blessing concluding a funeral ceremony. The deeply moved audience quietly arose and began to leave. Many came forward to meet the honored families expressing their sympathy with a few warm words or just silently pressing their hands. Relatives and friends gathered around them and took them by their arms and led them out of the hall leaving behind them the seven portraits which were taken to their homes the following day. The memorial ceremony is over but its effects will be felt for a long time by all who attended. On this occasion hearts were humbled and exalted at the same time by the presence of the two great, ultimate realities of life. Death and Love. The cruelty of war, jts sacrifices, losses and tragedies were brought home to everyone by this event. For even now, after three years of war, there are some who cannot realize that this war isn’t fought beyond the ocean only ... It affects all who remained in the safety of the country and home . . . Its deadly power reaches from beyond the seven seas into our LASLO BAKO 83. New York, N: Y. many millions of square miles that have to be occupied before the War is won, but these soldiers didn’t think of that. The task that may seem insignificant in comparison with the enormous task facing our armies, was of utmost importance to them and they went over and beyond the line of duty obeying the command that was issued to them . . . The heroism of a single soldier does not mean much as far as the ultimate outcome of this conflict is concerned but the concerted action and heroic self-sacrifice of millions of soldiers . . . one winning a little hill, the other storming a pillbox, the third defending a ship, the fourth silencing a gun, all this, repeated by millions of heroes, adds up to Victory. And the same goes for civilians. THe task of one may seem insignificant compared with what the nation as a whole has to achieve. Indeed, the individual citizen may feel tempted to disregard his duty arguing that it won’t matter much if ONE doesn’t give blood, refuses to buy war bonds, or fails to do his duty to the best of his ability. But the portraits of the seven heroes stirred the conscience cf all who saw' them. A new loyalty was born on that memorable evening which made those who attended rededicate themselves to renewed efforts and greater sacrifices for the winning of the war. In this respect, the portrait dedication of New York turned out to be a great morale booster, an immense help to civilian war effort, for the self-sacrifice of these heroes made everyone realize that no one can evade his duty on the ground of its seeming insignificance. Perhaps only a few words should be added as to the part played by our Association on this occasion. The pride w7e felt because of the generous action of the Board of Directors voting to have the portraits of our heroic dead painted and presented to the bereaved families as a gift of our Association, has been humbled in the presence of the seven bereaved families. Costly as the gift of our Association may be, it does not compare with the sacrifices they were called upon to make when they had to give up their loved ones. These beautiful portraits and the sentiment with which they were presented are but a drop of sweetness in the ocean of bitter sorrow that has become the lot of these families. Nevertheless, we are sincerely grateful to the membership of the Verhovay for having made it possible to give that drop of brotherly comfort to these families who, next to our heroic dead, are the greatest heroes of this war . . . Verhovayans in New York will remember for a long time this memorial celebration which gave them opportunity to pay tribute to the heroic dead of our Association, to extend sympathy and brotherly love to their mourning families, to help the unfortunate people of Hungary and to rededicate themselves to the great task that lies before us and will remain before us even after Victory has been attained. Never before have Verhovayans served more noble purposes with deeper effect than on this occasion. The fraternal achievements of the Verhovay in New York have reached a climax which should serve as a goal and an example for Verhovayans all over the country. JOHN KURTZMANN 200. So. Norwalk, Conn. VALENTINE HŰLIK 83. New York, N. Y. land and breaks the heart of millions of people and causes sorrow and despair for many more. Even those who haven’t anyone serving the country on the front, became brothers of those who have lost one who was dear to them . . . they learned to cry with them because those seven portraits brought home to them the fact that this war takes away from us the prime of our youth and the best of our nation. He who attended the ceremony, left a better man. Facing those portraits he felt the noble souls of seven heroes talking to him and hearing the stifled sobs of their families their sorrow became a reality for him. Somehow everyone realized that no one can exclude himself from the sorrows caused by this war, nor from its responsibilities and duties that must be borne by the entire nation. And a silent vow was made by many to live up to those responsibilities and duties no matter how insignificant they may seem to be from the individual’s point of wiew. The presence of the portraits of these seven heroes exacted a promise from everyone to help our nation to win this war as soon as possible by dedicating his abilities and his resources to the war effort of our nation. It may seem little what one can do for the winning of the war. But these seven heroes reminded the audience that they gave their lives in some action that may seem insignificant in itself as far as the ultimate outcome of the war is concerned. Perhaps one died storming a little hill that had to be taken from the enemy . . . perhaps another died by defending a ship, one of the many thousands that take weapons and supplies to our soldiers. The winning of a small hill may seem insignifiant when compared with the SEVEN VERHOVAY HEROES’ PORTRAITS PRESENTED
