Verhovayak Lapja, 1946 (29. évfolyam, 1-52. szám)

1946 / Verhovay Journal

Page 4

VerhovayJournal

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:

436—442 FOURTH AVENUE PITTSBURGH 19, PA.

Telephone: COurt 3454 or 3455

All articles and changes of address should be sent to the VERHOVAY FRATERNAL INSURANCE ASSOCIATION 436 —442 FOURTH AVENUE, PITTSBURGH 19, PA.

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Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at Detroit,

Michigan under the Act of March 3, 1879.

MARTYRS OF LIBERTY COMMEMORATED IN DAYTON

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Ever since 1849 Hungarians honored on the 6th of October of each year the memory of the 13 Hungarian officers of Kossuth’s army, who had been executed at Arad. After having fought gloriously, with unmatched heroism, for a year and a half for the Independence of the Hungarian nation, they met ignominious death, but their names went down in history as those of the “Martyrs of Arad,” honored and revered by Hungarians all over the world.

Like the people of Hungary, Americans of Hungarian descent still observe the anniversary of that tragic day, even though hundreds of thousands of Hun garians had followed in the footsteps of the 13 martyrs of Arad since 1849. Millions laid down their lives in the last war which could properly be called the World War for Liberty, and among those who made the supreme sacrifice, we find thousands and thousands of Americans of Hungarian descent. The Verhovay, though the largest American Hungarian organization, still represents only a comparatively small fraction of the Hungarian population in our land and, yet, 6,000 of its members took up' arms to fight for the liberation of the enslaved people and, of these, 190 gave their lives in order that we may retain our •liberties . . . These, too, were' martyrs of liberty . . .

Ninety-eigth years had passed since that tragic October 6th. Not one of those who personally knew the martyrs of Arad has been left among the living. What happened at Arad, is history ... something to remember, to think about ... a sad episode of the past ... its memory, however, does not hurt anymore . . .

But it is different with the 190 Verhovay martyrs of liberty of World War II! We knew them, we loved them, we lived with them. Their memory is vivid and fresh and will live painfully in the hearts of their contemporaries ... Yet, we believe that future generations will remember them with as much reverence as our generation remembers the 13 martyrs of Arad, for our 190 herces died for the same cause as those 13 almost a century ago . . •

It was fitting and proper for branches 249, 362 and 447 of Dayton, O., to decide that the Memorial Day in honor of the Verhovay heroes of World War

II., be observed on the day dedicated to the memory of the 13 martyrs of liberty. Thus, on the 6th day of October, Sunday aft-' emoon at 3 o’clock, Verhovay ans of Dayton met at the St. Emery Hall where memorial ceremonies were held in honor of Louis Spivak, Stephen Varga, Jr., and Andrew Seer.

Joseph Prince, M. D., director,

chairman of the Memorial Committee opened the ceremonies with the following address:

“To all of you who were good enough to come here today, I extend my sincere thanks and greetings. The Board of Directors of the Verhovay Fraternal Insurance Association made it possible for us to present the portraits of our fallen heroes to their mothers, fathers and wives. In doing so, the Board acted in keeping with the spirit of the thirteen miners who founded our Association.

I am certain that these men did not want to die. They, too, would rather be with us today. However, they were great men, willing to sacrifice their lives in order that we may free the world from the tyranny of dictators. Indeed, we are grateful to these men, and, also, to the mothers and fathers who reared such splendid young men. We know that theSe parents had sacrificed that which was most precious to them and, therefore, we should never forget them, nor their sons who died for us.”

Dr. Prince, then, introduced Paul Kelemen as the Master of Ceremonies who was called upon to take the place of his brother, director John P. Kelemen who, due to serious illness, could not attend the memorial ceremonies.

The Pledge of Allegiance was delivered by Miss Mary Hankoczky and the National Anthem was sung by the audience, accompanied on the piano by Mrs. Erma Jacobs.

The Master of Ceremonies introduced Supreme Auditor John Sabo who first conveyed the greetings of Supreme Secretary Coloman Revesz and Supreme Treasurer John Szalanczy. Speaking of the occasion, he said:

Verhovay Journal

October 30, 1946

FALTSSY RETURNS!

On Friday,October 18, we received the telephone message that Director Aloysius Falussy, chairman of the Executive Committee

and member of the Committee of three of American Hungarian Relief, Inc., to Hungary in September, has arrived in New York. The Rev. Dr. Újlaki and Mr. Dobozy, the two other members of the Committee, have not yet returned at this writing, but are expected to arrive any day.

A special meeting of the Directors of the American Hungarian Relief, Inc., will be held in Pittsburgh, on November 11, Monday, to hear the report of director Falussy. A special meeting of the Board of Directors of the Verhovay is to precede the meeting of the American Hungarian

Relief, Inc., when Mr. Falussy will render his first report to the body having delegated him to Hungary.

Convinced that this report will eliminate many misunderstandings, apprehensions and misre) presentations in reference to the relief-activities in Hungary, we look forward to hearing his report which will be presented to the Verhovay membership as soon as possible.

We predict that the return of director Falussy will have decisive effect on the conduct of the relief-movement. Undoubtedly, the membership of our Association will give whole hearted support to whatever appeal director Falussy may present on the basis of his findings and experiences. The

Board of Directors was wise in sendings to Hungary a man who is not easily impressed by appearances. Mr. Falussy, a lawyer, is a man trained for and experienced in finding the facts and we can rest assured that his presentation of the situation will not be based on impressions but on true facts. Those wanting to know the thruth about the effectiveness of the American Hungarian Relief Movement in Hungary, will be able to learn the facts which will be published in full in the Journal. And even though we may expect a revival of the contoversies centered around the relief-movement, we propose to stand pat on the factual report to be presented to us by our representative, director I Falussy.

“What is the motivating force which makes it possible to have these Memorial Ceremonies? Many of our nation’s youth had died in the service of their country, but very few had been given the proper tribute. In fact, there seem to be many who already have forgotten these honored dead. The Verhovay, however, will not, forget these men. Fraternalism, the motivating force driving us in all of our activities, would never permit that.

The Armed Forces can be likened to the many fine fraternal organizations of our day. Our fighting men were great and they won because they had brotherly love in their hearts and they knew what could be accomplished by brotherly cooperation. We were a fighting team because we had discipline, because we had religion, because we had good leaders many of whom came from the ranks of good fratemalists, and because we had faith in God and love toward our fellow-men in our hearts. No enemy could defeat nor destroy such a bulwark of God. Fraternal organizations achieved their successes by the same means. And that proves that in peace, as in war, we can attain success only if we are led by the spirit of fraternalism.

When these men made the supreme sacrifice, it was somewhat of a consolation to their loved ones that they died in order to give us the opportunity for building a new and better world. But if these men were alive today I am certain that they would point cut how we had relaxed our efforts since V-J day. They would accuse us of letting victory slip from our grasp because we are not taking active interest in our government. They would tell us to stop complaining, criticizing and letting the other fellow do all the work. They would urge us to start working immediately and to fight relentlessly for a good government, a strike-less era, a non-inflationary period, plenty of food and peace and understanding among all nations.

I appeal to the veterans to join hands With those who remained on the home-front and to seriously pursue the goal of a new and better world. If there are many of us who will demand it and work for it, I am certain we shall be successful. With faith in God and our fellowmen, with commonsense, with work and sacrifice we can win the battle and then, and only then, can we say that these men did not die in vain.”

Commander Sam Hedges of the

American Legion, Post 5, was the next speaker. “Many years ago —he said—a great American said: ‘Let us have one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.’ Twenty-eight years ago we were called to defend this principle. We thought we did a successful job. It was not long, however, till greed and jealousy brought another war upon the world. Again our men and women were called to defend this principle. We won this war, too. Now we have to learn to live with each other. Nations must learn to live peacefully. And the people of-áll the nations must realize that they can live peacefully if they want to. In our country we have millions of people of all nationalities who have demonstrated that they can live together peacefully, because they are loyal to God and to Our Great Flag. The message which I bring to you from the American Legion Post 5, of Daytcn, is this: our motto is ‘in peace as in war we serve.’ The way we serve in peace is to teach all how to live together peacefully.”

The Rev. Father Walter Vellebil of the ‘Jesus Holy Name’ Roman Catholic Parish, extended his deep sympathy to the bereaved families. He paid a moving tribute to the mothers and fathers for the sacrifice which they have made and for the' splendid young men given by them to the cause of the just. Then he continued: “I, too, served in World War II. I comforted many men, I shared their work, their troubles, their bitter experiences. And I can say to you that these men served with only one thought in mind. They wanted to serve their country to the best of their abilities; they wanted to give everything they had to preserve the ideals of the American way of life. I can also say that they were no cowards. There may have been fear in the hearts of these young men, but once the word was given, they went bravely and willingly, and they did their duty well. This idea, this principle which flamed so brightly in the hearts of brave men, should never be allowed to die. It was this idea of our heroes and our men which made this country great.”

The Hon. Judge Emmet Jackson, representing Hon. Edward Breen, Mayor of Dayton, conveyed the greetings and expressions of sympathy of the Mayor. As a veteran of both the First and

Second World War he paid tribute to the heroic men of cur country and the Hungarians who had contributed so splendidly to our cause. He, too, urged the audience to continue the struggle for a better world, for we should not allow ourselves to lose the peace which was won by these men at the price of so much sacrifice.

The Rev. Andrew Harsanyi,

pastor of the First Hungarian Reformed Church, Dayton, O., recaling the 13 martyrs of Arad, said: “Today we again have October 6th with us. Again we honor men who gave Magyar blood for the cause of liberty. We can be very proud of the Hungarians, for they always were wiling to give their lives for this noble cause, regardless of how high a price they had to pay. The greatest loss, however, is that of the parents, of these men. Constantly they prayed to God asking Him to bring back their dear sons to safety. To their bitter sorrow, their prayers were not granted. And that is why we are here today. We share the grief of these three families. And we ask the blessings of God upon all, especially the mothers and fathers of these young men.”

The great moment for the unveiling of the portraits arrived. Speaking of the bitter fate of the defeated, Supreme President John Bencze stated: “We owe everlasting gratitude to these men who saved us from a tragedy that would have befallen us had they not defended the country and defeated the enemy. Now that we get so many sad letters from Hungary, we know what fate awaits the defeated and we have an idea of what it would be like if we had lost the war.

Our Board of Directors wanted to find a way to express our gratitude. In these portraits they found the way to prove to the world that our Association is not just an insurance organization, but a fraternal institution in which brotherliness prevails over everything else. And now we shall unveil these portraits and present them to the parents of these heroic men. We do so not with the thought that the membership of the Verhovay will forget them now. We shall always remember our heroes and we shall always think of you, willing to share your grief and to stand by you in the hour of need. Please, accept these portraits in the same spirit of brotherliness as with which they (Continued on Page 5)