Verhovayak Lapja, 1945 (28. évfolyam, 1-52. szám)
1945 / Verhovay Journal
APRIL 11, 1945 VOL. XXVIII HIGHLIGHTS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTOR'S MEETING The minutes of the Board of Directors will be published in this, or the next issue of the Journal depending on when the translation Of the same can be completed. However, since the Board of Directors has to deal with many small matters which cannot claim the interest of the majority of the membership, a report on the important decisions brought by the Board and on t7ie highlights of the meeting is offered for the benefit of the majority of the membership who will, probably, not read the Minutes in their entirety. This is necessary because the Minutes contain only brief statements as to the actions brought by the Directors, the importance of which cannot be grasped by the membership unless some explanation is given to their significance. THE VERHOVAY AND HUNGARY It goes without question that the majority of Verhovayans are interested in the fate of Hungary. It is significant, therefore, that the Board at the beginning of the meeting and immediately after honoring the heroic dead, turned its attention to the present state of Hungary and made the following statement which has been made part of the Minutes: “Our anxious hopes turn towards the native country of most of us: Hungary. All our thoughts are with our tortured, impoverished, Hungarian brothers. After the horrible years of trials, the eastern star of Liberty casts its rádiance upon them. May a real resurrection follow the agonies of crucifiction suffered by the people of Hungary. We believe that the promises of the great leaders of the United Nations will come true and that the liberation from under the yoke of the Nazis will be followed by the freedom of new life and not by the cross of another enslavedness for this orphaned nation which was made to endure thousand times the sufferings of Calvary.” This statement, in effect, calls upon the leaders of the Allied nations to enforce the principles of the Atlantic Charter for the benefit of Hungary in order that it m&y not be made the victim of another nation’s pressure for political or territorial aggrandizement. RESULTS OF 1944’S OPERATIONS Following the honoring of the heroic dead and the statement made in behalf of Hungary, the Board turned its attention to the results of the operations of the Verhovay during 1944. These results are set forth in detail in the Minutes of the Board of Directors, but attention should be called to them in this discussion because the figures shown in this report prove that the Association made excellent progress in -spite of the fact that war-time conditions have reduced investment possibilities as well opportunities for se curing new members. The assets of the Association have increased by $636.472,45 during 1944... .a record increase, never before surpassed in Verhovay’s history and about 130,000 dollar above the increase attained in 1943, another record yyear of Verhovay progress. The membership of the Association increased by 2291 members during 1944 as against a net increase of 828 recorded in 1943. This was attained not only by the great number of new members secured but also by a decrease of lapses, a factor which is as important for the attainment of increase as is the securing of new' members. The amount of insurance in force increased .by about a million and a half dollars to $35.306,175.50 by the end of 1944. The above data show' that the Association had a successful year on all three counts: the assets, the membership and the insurance in force increased to such /extent as to make 1944 one of the most successful year in Verhovay history. WORK STARTS IN CALIFORNIA The Asociation has quite a number of members in the State of California. These members had to pay their dues to the branches which they left when moving to California. This state of affairs led to many complications, however our member in California deserve all credit for having remained loyal to the Verhovay. in spite of the fact that all business had to be conducted through branches thousands of miles from their new home. The last Convention decided that the Verhovay should extend its operations to the State of California as ..soon as possible. At last, some weeks ago, a license from the State of California was received and therefore, the Directors decided upon immediate action. Thus the 9t!v organizing district of the Verhovay wras formed, covering the State of California. Mr. Alexander 3yulai, former Supreme Organizer, was the logical choice for the position of District Manager in the 9th district, especially so because he has his home in Van Nuys, Cal. Mr. Gyulay already left for California and will shortly begin his activities on this promising field which will probably yield many new' members for the Verhovay. KEEN INTEREST SHOWN BY SECOND GENERATION VERHOVAYANS Many members of the Association, now serving with the armed forces, sent greetings to the Board of Directors. Some of these letters contained also constructive suggestions for the further progress of the Asociation. Especially two letters were noted. One came from Supreme Auditor, PFC. John Sabo, sent from a distant island in the Pacific. The other wras written from France, by PFC. James Siket. John Sabo’s letter dealt with a plan for the substantial increasing of the membership of the Association, while James Siket offered some suggestions for the perpetuation of the memory of heroic dead Verhovayans. Both letters served proofs to the Directors as well as to the meihbership of the Association that nothing is farther from the truth that the allged indifference of the second generation "membership of the Verhovay. There are as many interested and ambitious members among those of the second generation as there are among the older group of Verhovayans. They are as keenly interested in the further development of the Verhovay FIA. as are the veterans of this organization As long as we have members who, while serving with the armed forces in distant lands, continue to plan for the Verhovay, we may rest assured that the second and third generation wall take good care of the organization their fathers built HONORED BRANCH OFFICERS It has been a co'stum of long standing with the Board of Directors to confer the “Verhovay ack now-ledged” title with the Silver medal and the citation to deserving branch-ofKcers. At this time Stephen Sveighart and Thomas Kuti, both members of Branch 26, Sharon, Pa., were honored in recognition of the singular fact that they have successfully served their branch as officers for MORE THAN FIFTY YEARS. Their unparalleled record calls for the admiration ..of the entire membership which finds its expression in the tribute paid to these two men by the Board of Directors. Also honored was Gáspár Nagy, who served Branch 23. Pocahontas, Va„ for more than 15 years in the capacity of branch-president. ’THE M. D. PROBLEM Several appeals were submitted I by the Board of Directors by members whose sick-benefits claims W'ere rejected by the Home Office because their claims w-ere filled out by physicians who are not M.D. physicians and, therefore, in accordance with the provisions of the By-laws, not qualified to do so. At this time, these appeals received additional emphasis by a , memorial of the “Ohio Asociation of Osteopathic physicians and surgeons”, addressed to the Board of Directors, requesting that the provision of the By-Law's pertaining to this question be waived in favor of the members of that Association. Nevertheless, the Board upheld the decisions of the Home Office and approved the rejection of Sick j Benefit claims which were com- ! pleted by other than M.D. physicians. The Board requests all members of the Sick Benefit Department who intend to file sick benefit | claims, to call only M.D. physicians for treatments and instructed the editor of this Journal to inform the membership as to the various aspects of this problem. Accordingly, an article with the M.D. -problem will appear in the Journal as soon as possible and it is hoped that all (Continued on Page 2) A SOLDIER DIES IN BURMA In the February 14th issue of the Journal the death of T/A JOHN GERÉB, 118th heroic dead Verhovayan, of Branch 40, Martins-Ferry, O., was reported. Due to the lack of further information it was impossible to give a detailed account of his tragic end. Since then, we recived from the mother of John Gereb two letters, one from the War Department and the other from the Chaplain of her son, which are published here in full, because they give an unusually detailed account of the tragedy that robbed Mrs. Gereb of her son. The letter from the War... Department follows. “Dear Mrs. Veréb: I am referring to my letter of 28 January 1945, which confirmed the death of your son, on 13 January 1945 in the Asiatic Area. The report of the investigation conducted by the military authorities to determine the circumstances surrounding your son’s death has now been received in the War Department. This report discloses that T. Gereb sustained severe infuries on the afternoon of 5 January 1945, in his camp area near Bhamo, Burma when a mortar shell, which was being handled by another soldier, was accidentally exploded. First aid was promptly rendered and your son was removed, by ambulance, to an Army hospital where every possible medical aid was administered in an effort to save his life but death occurred on 13 January, 1945, as a result of the injuries received. The Quartermaster General, Washington, D. C., has jurisdiction over matters pertaining to the burial of our military personnel who die overseas and any “inquiry, regarding the location of your son’s grave may be addressed to that official. The tragic and untimely death of your son is deeply regretted and my heartfelt sympathy is with you in your sorrow. May the knowledge that he served honorably and faithfully in his country’s cause be a source of sustaining comfort to you. Sincerely yours, J. A. ULIO, Major General.” f The above was followed by a letter from Roland V. Hudson, Chaplain of Northern Combat Area Command. “Dear Mr.'Gereb: .When this letter reaches you, you will have already received official information regarding... the... death... by shrapnel woulds here in Burma on the 13th of Jan. of your beloved son, who was... assigned to the... 96th Signal Batt. in connection with this Headquarters. There are tirhes when words seem so very trivial and the less that is said the better. At times of deaths, we feel that strongly; for the life that has been lived speaks more sweetly deeply and meaningfully to our hearts that can mere words of any mortal. Yet, as the (Continued on Page 5)
