Verhovayak Lapja, 1945 (28. évfolyam, 1-52. szám)
1945 / Verhovay Journal
page 6_______________________________________Verhovay Journal______________________________ THE VERHOVAY EPIC . . March 5, 1945 ♦ T. Sgt. GEORGE KOCSIS George Kocsis, one of four brothers serving in the armed forces, a member of Branch 383, Buffalo, N.Y., attended the Tona wanda High School, then joined the Air Forces, spent one year in training in the United States, and lias been overseas for the past two years^He is a Flight Chief in the Air Forces with a night-fighter squadron of the 12th Air Force in Italy. He was awarded the Good Conduct Medal and has recently been awarded the Bronze Star Medal for “meritorius service in direct support of combat operations.” The armies fighting on the Italian front receive much less publicity than they are entitled to. The dramatic developments in Western Europe and in the Pacific tend to distract the attention of the public from the heroic achievements and the gruelling experiences of our armed forces fighting •a war of attrition in Italy. Some war reporters insist than not even the marines fighting on Iwo Jima have anything on the troops which hear the brunt of fighting on the Italian front. The territory is extremly unfavorable to our armies. The Germans hold excellent positions for defense. During one of the recent attacks against a German position an entire American company has been wiped out except 12 men.— Only if we realize the difficulties encountered by our armies in northern Italy, can we appreciate what “meritorious service in direct support of combat operations” really means.— ESCAPE FROM TRAP IN THE REICH. One of the three brothers of George Kocsis, Pvt. Frank Kocsis, fights on the western front. Frank is a member of Branch 383, Buffalo, N.Y., too. He attended the same High School as his r brother and was a skilled machinist in a defense plant before induction. He was taken overseas last September, was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received during the epic events at Bundenthal which we are going to relate. Pvt. FRANK KOCSIS Seventy-nine infantrymen and three officers of the U.S. Seventh Army were trapped in the Siegfried Line town of Bundenthal for seven days, until their rescue was made possible by two brave Indiana boys who slipped through the German lines and found the route by which the rescue troops could pick their way past the Siegfried pill-boxes and guide the feaunt unshaven and hungry men back to safety. The rescue was done after a 1,000 round artillery barrage succeeded in keeping the Germans’ heads down during the breakout.—• Four men didn’t come back. Their bodies are resting in the cold basements of houses on the outskirts of Bundenthal into which the GI’s fought their way on the night of December 17th. Some of the trapped men lived most of the week on cold potatoes, sharing one loaf of bread among 24 men. Others were situated more fortunately, for they had rabbit stew, chicken, fresh bread bakén by a civilian baker and even cookies raided from a German grocery. They even captured three cows. During their isolation the Germans ..were so close that they tossed hand-grenades in the windows and ..pounded the houses with artillery, mortars and machine guns, ..but it seems, they were asleep in their tents when the Yanks slipped out on Christmas Eve. Some of the houses they occupied received as many as ten direct hits from heavy artillery, others were set afire by German incendiary bullets. Considering their being thus exposed, it amounts to a miracle that they did not have more casualties than four dead and seven wounded. One of the wounded was Pvt. Frank Kocsis, of Tonawanda, N.Y. The Purple Heart awarded to him will for ever keep in his memory the longest seven days he ever spent, and also the happiest Christmas eve, when he escaped with his comrades from the death-trap in Bundenthal.... GETS PURPLE HEART Sgt. John Matyas, son of Mrs. Sophie Matyas, a widow, and a member of Branch 421, Booth, W.Va., was awarded the Purple Heart for military merit after being wounded in action in France in January. The medal has been sent to his mother. Sgt. Matyas has been in the service more than two years and has been overseas for three months. JOHN MATYAS Sgt. Matyas is a hospital patient in France. THREE SONS WOUNDED Mrs. Louis Udvary, Manager of Branch 517, Cairubrook, Pa., (Box 87, Cairubrook, Pa.,) has the rare distinction of having SEVEN SONS in the armed forces. They are scattered all over the world and her motherly heart is overburdened by the anxiety for her sons each of whom has made himself an excellent record. Mrs. Udvary has been sorely tried, lately, by three successive notices of the War Department informing her that three out of her seven soldier- boys have been wounded in action.— PETER UDVARY Peter, the first manager of Branch 517, has been in the armed forces since 1938. First he served with the Air Forces, and later was transferred to the Navy. During the last six years he spent only three months at home. His mother was notified that her son has been wounded in action and is a patient in a Naval hospital in California. Her anxiety is deepened by the fact that no other information was furnished to her as to the nature of the injuries suffered by her oldest son. Louis has been in the armed forces for the last four years. He was in Africa, Italy, France, Portugal, Panama. He is a paratrooper and was last in Serbia, where he was wounded in action in December. His mother received another notice from the War Department on February 20th, informing her that her son was still in military hospital. No information was given to her as to ST. SGT. LOUIS UDVARY the nature of his injuries but she fears that they must have been serious judging from his long confinement. ST. SGT. STEVEN UDVARY Steve is a great flier who participated in many aerial actions. Three times his plane has been damaged but each time he managed to bring the plane down safely. He was wounded each time, THREE TIMES altogether... When wounded for the second time, a member of his crew, a corporal, was wounded fatally... the bullet entered his back and left through his chest... the plane caught fire and Steve got severe burns when attemting to quench the fire. He recovered and went back for more. Our deep sympathy goes out to the mother of these three heroes and we pray that they may recover soon and return to their mother... They are not only great soldiers but good sons too, judging from the way they dedicated their pictures to their mother. Writes Peter on the frame of his picture: “To an angel, my blessed Mom...”— Says Louis: “Thinking of you always...” Indeed, a blessed mother having reared sons of whom we all are proud... May she be sevenfold blessed by getting them back all well and safely! GOOD NEWS FROM “THE HOUSE OF SORROW” A month ago we reported that Daniel Matto, Sr., manager of Branch 16, Star Junction, Pa„ received notice from the War Department that his son Daniel, Jr., was missing in action in Germany since December 16th, the day when the German offensive started in Luxemburg. We called Mr. Matto’s house a “House of sorrow” then, because on the 1st Lt. DANIEL MATTO, JR. He was in the States at the time when his mother fell ill, in fact he returned home on a furlough just three days before she died. He spent three days and nights with her at the hospital, giving her in the life-and-death struggle the great comfort of his love. Then, she passed away and had to return to his base from where he was soon taken overseas.— Many of the friends .of Mr. Matto read in the Journal about the disappearence” of his son and tried to comfort him. And now, ten weeks after receiving the bad news, good news came and lifted the burden of anxiety form Mr. Matto’s house. The War Department reported that his son was a prisoner of war in Germany and shortly after this report arrived, the relieved father was overjoyed to receive a letter from his beloved son. We publish the letter which is another example of the strong spirit that upholds our young men in war as well ,as in captivity. Jan. 8, 1945 “Dear Dad and Family: I pray to God that you have not been too concerned at my present plight; definitely, your worries have concerned me. I am well and looking forward to the day when you may see that fact with your own eyes. God willing, THAT SHOULD BE WITHIN THE YEAR! Until then, please, do not worry about me and all of you write as often as you can from home. Please, don’t bother to send me any packages, they will be unnecessary. Please write to Betty and to our friends: tell them that I am well and that I send my heartfelt devotion. Elmer, more than ever, I implore you to continue with your present work; do your utmost to be successful, and work and look towards the future. You must begin now to make a success of yourself: you can do it! I hope that you all had a merry Christmas and are enjoying a happy and prosperous New Year. Next Christmas I want to be with you. Dad, I’m looking forward to some of your toast, coffee, hot cakes and sausages ... (Continued on Page 7) •2Stli of May, 1944, he lost his wife and the great loss made it more difficult for him to bear the burden of anxiety for his son, Daniel, who was the pride of his and his wife’s heart. He graduated from college as a soldier and was soon promoted and held the rank of a First Lieutenant at the time he was captured. (Continued from Page 5) red and disarmed them. Instead of taking four American soldiers as captives they found themselves prisoners. For the part played in this unusual bit of warfare, Pvt. Wickerham was lauded by his superiors and received a citation from the President of the United States.— RECEIVES BRONZE STAR MEDAL
