Verhovayak Lapja, 1945 (28. évfolyam, 1-52. szám)
1945 / Verhovay Journal
Page 4 Verhovay Journal August 29, 1945 members is extended to the bereaved family. 173. PFC. JOSEPH SZABÓ Pfc. Joseph Szabó, a member of Branch 24, Dante, Va., and the second soldier of that branch to pay the Supreme Sacrifice, was born on Christmas Day, December 25, 1918. He was inducted in January, 1944, and was soon taken overseas to the European theatre of war. He participated in the invasion of Normandy. His widowed mother received otice last year that her beloved son was missing in action since November 8, 1944. Months of agonizing waiting passed without any news from her son. Nine months later, on the 10th of August she received a telegram from the War Department which informed her that her son was killed in action on the day he was reported missing. Pfc. Joseph Szabó is survived, in addition to his mother, by a brother, Alexander Szabó, serving somewhere in the Pacific, two sisters, Irene and Mary, and his uncles, Steve Szabó -and family and Joseph Bodor and family, St. Paul, Virginia. The membership of Branch 24 wishes to express its deepest sympathy to the bereaved family. All Verhovayans join Branch 24 in offering their condolences. Pfc. Joseph Szabó was the 73rd Verhovay an to give his life for victory in Western Europe. 174. SGT. JOSEPH ERSEK, JR. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Érsek, Adena, O., received the following letter from the War Department: “Dear Mr. and Mrs. Érsek: Since your son, Sergeant Joseph C. Érsek, Air Corps, was reported missing in action on July 31, 1944, the War Department has entertained the hope that he survived and that information would be revealed dispelling the uncertainty surrounding his absence. However, as in many cases, the conditions of warfare deny us such information. The record concerning your son shows that he was crew-member of a B-17 (Flying Fortress) bomber which was lost on a bombing mission to Munich, Germany. W'hen over the target, the plane was hit by antiaircraft fire and was last seen diving downward. Full consideration has recently been given to all available information bearing on the absence of your son, including all reports, records and circumstances. These have been carefu!ly reviewed and considered. In view cf the fact that twelve months have now expired without the receipt of evidence to supoprt a continued presumption of survival, the War Department must terminate such absence by a presumptive finding of death .. Joseph Érsek, Jr., born at Ramsey, O., on August 3, 1923, was a member of Branch 73, Adena, O., and is the first heroic dead member of that branch. He is the 74th fatal casualty suffered by the Verhcvay in Western Europe. To his bereaved family goes the heartfelt sympathy of all Verhovayans . .. THE MEMORY OF OUR 174 HEROIC DEAD SHALL REMAIN WITH US FOR EVER. Verhovay Journal Journal of the Verhovay Fraternal Insurance Ass’n OFFICE OF PUBLICATION 8502 West Jefferson Ave. Detroit 17, Mich. PUBLISHED SEMI-MONTHLY BY THE Verhovay Fraternal Insurance Association Managing Editor: JOHN BENCZE Editor: COLOMAN REVESZ Editor’s Office: 345 FOURTH AVENUE ROOM 805 PITTSBURGH 22, PA. All articles and changes of address should be sent to the VERHOVAY FRATERNAL INSURANCE ASSOCIATION 345 FOURTH AVENUE, PITTSBURGH 22, PA. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: United States and Canada _____________________$1.00 a year Foreign Countries *__________________________$1.50 a year ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT: P. O. BOX 7, WOOLSEY STATION — LONG ISLAND CITY 5, N. Y. Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at Detroit, Michigan under the Act of March 3, 1879. They Gave Their Lives 165. CPL. STEPHEN TULAI Stephen Tulai was born in ; Seanor, Pa., on April. 12, 1912. He married the former Anna Irene Czaliner of Roseland, N. J., on May 8, 1942, in the Reformed Church, Newark, N. J. Their short happiness was brought to a tragic end by the telegram of the War Department notifying Mrs. Tulai that her beloved husband was killed in Germany on May 9, 1945, three days before their third wedding anniversary. Stephen Tulai was a member of Branoh 70, Newark, N. J., and is the first heroic dead member of that Branch. He is the 69th Verhovayan to make the supreme sacrifice on the front in Western Europe. To Mrs. Tulai, the 23rd war-widow of the Verhovay, and to the family of her heroic husband the deep sympathy of all Verhovayans is expressed. 166. ST. SGT. EUGENE MADARAS Mr. and Mrs. Augustus Madaras, 1906 Clement St., Flint, Mich., received the heartbreaking news that their son died in Germany on May 21, 1945. He was born in Flint, Mich., on September 21, 1923, and was a member of Branch 214. The circumstances of his untimely death were discribed by his chaplain in a letter written to the parents of this hero. The letter follows: “Dear Mrs. Madaras: It is with deep regret on the part of ail associates with your loved one that we write concerning your and our loss. As you know, Eugene died on May 21, 1945. He was accidentally shot near Winterberg, Czechoslovakia, by another soldier on May 20, 1945. His body was laid to rest in the American Cemetery in Nürnberg, Germany, grave No. 167, Row 7, Plot C., which is being made as beautiful as such tragic circumstances permit. His grave is marked by a modest Christian cross bearing his name and ' other pertinent information. It is in such surroundings that the last rites were read, and the grave blessed by a Catholic Army Chaplain as we paid tribute to one who had given his life for his country. As a Catholic Chaplain I wish to assure you that every comfort dear to our Faith was provided. Confessions were heard, Our Lord reseived in Holy Communion and the Sacrament of Extreme Unction was administered to the seriously wounded. Since the first day of conflict our soldiers have been offering their prayers.” The tragedy of being accidentally shot by one of his own comrades is an additional source of sorrow for his bereaved parents. There are hundreds and hundreds of similiar cases. Japanese ships carrying American prisoners of war have been sunk many times by our own guns. Many a soldier was killed by his own comrades who mistook him for an enemy. Such tragedies are unavoidable in war but they add to the sorrow of those who lost their loved ones. Our deepest sympathy is extended to the Madaras family. St. Sgt. Eugene Madaras is the 70th fatal casualty of the Verhovay in the Western European theatre of war. 167. PFC. STEVEN GERENDAY Mrs. Stephen Gerenday (10 Roeb’ing Ave., Trenton, N. J.) was notified by the War Department that her husband died in Germany on February 13, 1945, as a result of wounds received in action on February 11, 1945. Steven Gerenday was a member of Branch 417, Trenton, N. J., and is the first heroic dead member of that branch. He was the 71st Verhovayan to lose his life in Western Europe. The sorrow of his wife, the 24th warwidow of the Verhovay, is shared by all of the fellowmembers of her heroic husband. 168. WILLIAM SEER William Seer, son of Mr. and Mrs. Balazs Seer, was a member of Branch 447, Dayton, O., and is the second heroic dead member of that branch. He was born in Michigan, on November 5, 1925. He would have been 20 in this year had he not met death in action on Okinawa on June 18, 1945, according to a telegram received by his parents. William Seer is the 49th Verhovayan who died in the Pacific theatre of war. Of course, the true number of the fatal casualties suffered by the Verhovay in the Pacific will be higher as there were several heroic dead Verhovayans whose death notices did not reveal the date and place where they died. It is shocking, however, to learn that William Seer is the 6th Verhovayan who died during the Okinawa campaign. Perhaps no Verhovayan ever heard of Okinawa before the war, but now that six Verhovayans found their grave on that tiny island, it will be remembered by all of us. 169. SGT. ELMER KALMAN Sgt. Elmer Kalman, son of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Andor, 1 Truman St., So. Norwalk, Conn., was a member of Branch 200 and is the 2nd heroic dead member of that branch. His fate is similar to that of William Seer that he, too, died at the age of 20. He was killed in action on Guam on June 22, 1945. This young hero joined the armed forces immediately upon graduating from the Stamford High School, on June 16, 1943. He attended special courses at Clemson Coliege, S. C., and was. trained at bases in various sections in the country; He was stationed in Kearney, Nebr., before he went to the Pacific zone. While training he had flown to Cuba and narrowly escaped death when he was forced to bail out in an accident in which three crewmembers were killed. Besides his parents he is survived by his brother, Cpl. Arthur Kalman, U.S.M.C., a sister, Miss Margaret Kalman and a step-sister, Miss Betty Ando. Elmer Kalman is the FIFTIETH fatal casualty suffered by the Verhovay in the Pacific theatre of war. 170. PVT. GÉZA MOLNÁR Mrs. Elizabeth Molnár of Nanty Glo, Pa., mourns for her son, Geza, whose tragic death was reported to her in the following letter: “Dear Mrs. Molnár: The International Red Cross has transmitted an official list obtained from the Japanese Government, after long delay, of American prisoners of war who were lost while being transported northward from the Philippine Islands on a Japanese ship which was sunk on 24 October 1944. It is with deep regret that I inform you that your son was among those lost when the sinking occurred and, in the absence of any probability of survival, must be considered to have lost his life. He will be carried on the records of the War Department as killed in action 24 October, 1944. The evidence of death was received 16 June 1945, the date upon which ... his accounts will be closed. The information available to the War Department is that the vessel sailed from Manila, Philippine Islands, on 11 October 1944 with 1775 prisoners of war aboard. On 24 October 1944 the vessel was sunk by submarine action in the South China Sea over 200 miles from the Chinese coast which was the nearest land. Five of the prisoners escaped in a small boat and reached the coast. Four others have been reported as picked up by the Japanese, by whom all others aboard are reported lost. Absence of detailed information as to what happened to other individual prisoners and the known circumstances of the incident lead to a conclusion that all other prisoners listed by the Japanese as aboard the vessel perished. It is with deep regret that I must notify you of this unhappy culmination of the long period of anxiety and suffering you have experienced. You have my heartfelt sympathy.” Géza Molnár was a member of Branch 347, Nettleton, Pa. This branch has only a little more than a hundred members ... yet, including Geza Molnár, already three of them have paid the supreme price of victory. Geza Molnár is the 51st Verhovayan who died in the Pacific zone ... He is the third Verhovayan who went down with a Japanese prisonship ... With him went 1766 of his comrades and a message with the identical heartbreaking text was sent to 1766 families who all have lost their loved ones on this tragic ocasion. The sorrow of the Molnár family in Nanty Glo is shared by these 1766 families and 53,000 Verhovayans ... 171. PFC. MIKE SEAMON Pfc. Mike Seamon, a member of Branch 396, was born in Leisenring, Pa., on Oct. 22, 1917. His mother, Mrs. Anna Seamon, Box 191, Jacob Creeks, Pa., received the following wire: “I am deeply distressed to inform you that corrected report just received states your son, Pfc. Mike Seamon, who was previously reported missing in action, was killed in action on 19 March, 1945, in Germany. Unavoidable circumstances made necessary the unusual lapse of time in reporting your son’s death to you.” Pfc. Seamon, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Seamon, is the 72nd Verhovayan who died for victory in Western Europe. To all members of his mourning family our deepest sympathy is expressed. 172. SGT. JOHN F. KISH John Kish was born on August 12, 1911, in Shamrock, Pa. His father, the late Joseph Kish came to the United States from Felsoszanto, Abauj county, Hungary. His mother, nee Veronica Malonka, was born in Nagyrat, Ung county, Hungary. John F. Kish was a member of Branch 138, Gary, Ind., and he was the third soldier from this branch to give his life in the defense of his country. His mother (1388 Harrison St., Gary, Ind.), was notified' by the War Department that her son was killed in glider-action on July 20, 1945, at the age of 34. In addition to his mother he is survived by three brothers, Joseph, William and Corp. Edward Kish who is serving with the occupational army in Germany, and a sister, Mrs. Sylvester Schmidt. Humbly we pay tribute to the memory of Sergeant John F. Kish, the 52nd fatal casualty suffered by the Verhovay in the Pacific theatre of war. The sympathy of all Verhovay SI
