Verhovayak Lapja, 1944 (27. évfolyam, 1-52. szám)

1944 / Verhovay Journal

Page 2 ________________________________________Verhov ay Journal

A Report on the War Effort

What Americans of Hungarian Origin Are Doing

By Stephen Huzianyi

It is inevitable that most of the activities which contribute to the successful termination of this war will never be publicized in the full, because the range and variety of the departments in which we serve are too greatly diversified to permit of a detailed description and summary.

It is our purpose here to do what justice we can to our boys as well as those of us on the production line through an analysis and exposition of our efforts on both home and battle sectors of this, the most widespread and far-flung of conflicts in our world history. While many thousands of our people, our brothers, our husbands, our sweethearts are battling all over the globe, right here in our country there are undoubtedly several hundred firms whose efforts are all directed toward an early and successful conclusion of the war.

Recognition is deserved on the fighting fronts — and at home, and moreover, is necessary — so that we may gauge more thoroughly our contributions to the U. S. A. Such will be the aim of this and future articles, in which I intend to give brief, revealing biographies of our fighting men.

Cpl. John J. Phillips—33113534 Headquarters Squadron II ASAC(SP)

APO No. 528

C/o Postmaster New York

1 Verhbvay readers are weil acquainted with the humorist, Johnny “Dirk” Phillips, from Pittsburgh, Pa. He has written several letters from overseas, which were published in the Journal. But now we are going to devote some time to write a brief history of his entry into the military services and his overseas experiences.

“Dirk” was born on May 15, 1920, in Pittsburgh. He went to the Annunciation Parochial school. Then he attended the Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, after spending three years in a prep school in Illinois. Then •—a 6 month post-graduate course at Perry High School in Pittsburgh. His abilities as a clever and interesting writer were already noticed during his scholastic studies for he won third prize in a short story contest, second prize in an oratory contest and writing sports for the school paper. In the way of athletics, he liked football, baseball, basketball, some tennis, handball and hockey. “My outstanding athletic achievement was making the freshman ping-pong team in my junior year,” writes Johnny.

After finishing school he worked in a tailor shop, then in a hide factory, and at Verhovay. and finally landed a permanent job as shipping clerk with the L. C. Smith and Corona Typewriter Inc. Six months of this and he went on the bench to get experience in repairing and servicing typewriters.

Shortly after his 21st birthday, Johnny registered for the draft. He received his questionnaire one month, his first physical the next, the second the following month—then he was inducted and taken to the New Cumberland Reception Center. Three days later he was sent to the Quartermaster Replacement Train ing Center at Camp Lee, Va., where he had his basic training and also attended the motor transport school. He was home on a week-end pass when the Japs made the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. But for the rest of the interesting information let us quote from Johnny’s letter:

*'In Februray of 1942, long after the rest of my company had been sent to camps all over the country for advanced training, they decided that they didn’t need me as a typewriter mechanic at Camp Lee, and I was sent to the Orlando Air Base in

Ejorida. Fifteen other men came with me and we formed the nucleus of the 787th (now 1975th) Quartermaster Truck Company. My name, incidentally, was first on the list of the special orders assigning us to this company, which makes me technically the first guy in the outfit.

“For the first week I was company clerk. Then they got a good one and I was put to work in the QM garage office. There I worked for 7 months, issuing driver’s licenses, keeping track of some 500 vehicles on the base, and also keeping mileage and lubrication records of about 90 of them. While at Orlando I played on the baseball team. We played all the camps and airbases around that part of Florida. Our closest rival was Mac- Dill Field. They had Hank Greenberg playing for them, and we had me! We used the Washington Senator’s spring training field for home games and gave them the privilege of beating us one day.

“In August 1942 our company was assigned to the 324th Service Group and shortly afterwards moved along with Hq. Sq. of that group to Lakeland Army Airport, 60 miles southwest of Orlando. Here our service group was officially formed and I was made base transportation dispatcher. Our motor pool had 150 vehicles

BRANCH 503 SOLDIER

PVT. JOSEPH PAPP, JR., is somewhere in Italy, his mother reports. Joe landed with the assault troops at Anzio beach head, serving with the 7th Infantry. We mentioned him previously, when he worked in the west in an Army hospital, helping to care for the wounded. He was under 18 then. At his mother’s request, Joe returned to Chicago, and when he was 18 he volunteered to fight.

and my experience in Orlando stood me in good stead.

“At the end of August, I was promoted to the grade of technician fifth grade. I was home on a furlough in November, with full knowledge of the fact that it Would be the last time I would see my parents until after the war.

“While at Lakeland we had a basketball team and played the local semi-pro outfits and were beaten on several occasions by Florida Southern College. Aside from the games with Florida Southern, we had a successful season. I wonder if the two MP’s on our team had anything to do with it.

"On Christmas night our service group boarded trains bound for a port of embarkation, and exactly 177 years after Washington crossed the Delaware our service group did likewise, but by a different means of transportation.

“We embarked and sailed in

the early part of January, and several weeks later set foot on the lighter part of the dark continent. We immediately went on convoy work and our first job was transporting portions of the

___th infantry division to the

Tunisian front.

“At the front our trucks saw service at the Maktar sector, the Valley of El Alla, and then around Kasserine Pass. When the Germans broke thru the pass our trucks were used to

evacuate the town of Telepte. This action drew a letter of

commendation from Brig. Gen. Dunton of the 12th Air Force Service Command.

“After the evacuation, our outfit was ordered back and we left our trucks at a place called Youks Les Bains, where there are some fine ruins of ancient Roman baths, and were flown

back to _____ From here we

drove trucks right from the docks to air bases around the country for delivery. Our return trip was always by transport

plane. These trips gave us the opportunity of seeing all of North Africa, and enjoying some of the rarest, finest, and most contrasting scenery in the world,

“Two months of this and we were ordered to rejoin the rest of the service group. Together with them we maintained and serviced a heavy bombardment group by transporting all the cargos necessary for the upkeep of a bomb group.

‘Tn July 1943, I was transferred to Headquarters Squadron of the Second Air Service Area Command. Here I work in the adjutant general’s office. This transfer involved a change of branch of service, which could only be obtained by order of a higher command. They obtained the order which technically puts me in the air corps, having previously been in the QM corps.

“Since the air corps is not authorized to have any technician ratings, I was changed to corporal—no change in pay involved. That’s it, life with headquarters like this is slightly dull compared to truck driving, but it has an overwhelming amount of compensation. Here I have no guard duty, KP, or stand any formations. We live right in a city and

have better sleeping quarters than soldiers back in the states. For all of this I thank the good Lord. And I am right now sweating out the end of the war.”

Some last comments on the “situation” in North Africa:

“My few extra-curricular activities are visiting my little girl friend Jeanette (French: Ginette), and taking her to the movies once in a while. She keeps pestering me to sing ‘Chatanooga Choo Choo’ and I refuse, (being the possessor of a particularly disgusting singing voice, I have no alternative).

"Fox Films Corporation has a representative over here and he drops in our office once in a while. I got to know him pretty well and now get to use his specially reserved seats in the

two leading cinema houses in town. Ginette thinks I’m king since it is so difficult to get anykind of seat in a movie nowa-days.

“Will end this, Steve old boy, with a news item. It is a recent German communique and goes like this: ‘Large formations of

huge American bombers attempted to penetrate Western Europe today but were driven off by

hordes of our brave fighter pilots. Four hundred enemy bombers were shot down. Three of our

fighters were lost. One of ou» cities is missing’.”

Letters such as “Dirk” writes are real medicine for the folks at home. We pray that he will write again and again for nothing I think can do so much for civilian morale here in the States as to have some kid in a foxhole drop some cheery comments to those of us suffering out this terrible war on the home front. Keep firing away, soldier!

In Alsace-Lorraine even the family names have been taken from the residents and Germanized names substituted. Century-old French streets of Mulhouse, Strasbourg, Metz have been given Nazi names. In their effort to destroy all French culture in these provinces the Germans are burning libraries—even the privately owned French cook books. In Strasbourg alone nearly 20,000 homes have been damaged in this war but the residents still pray for allied bombers to come over again with their block busters.

In America our war efforts are tranquil, but nevertheless they must be determined if we are to defeat Hitler. .

Buying War Bonds every pay day is one good way to exhibit our determination to aid in the war effort.

MAS 1A1B Q. M. Treasury DtnL

BUY U. S. WAR BONDS

July 13, 1944

S l/C JOHN NICK NAGY

S.l/C JOHN NICK NAGY is a member of Branch 421, of Booth, W. Va. He entered service August 4th, 1943 and received his “boot” training at Great Lakes, 111. He graduated from “boot” camp on Oct. 2nd, 1943 and spent 9 days leave at home. Then he was sent to the San Diego Destroyer Station at San Diego,.Cal. After completing the, course of a Fire Controlman, he was sent East, to Norfolk, Va, He received a 5 day furlough, and arrived home on New Years Eve. From Norfolk he was sent to Boston, to serve aboard the newly commissioned destroyer,

H. L. Edwards. He is now serving somewhere in the Atlantic, His mother is Mrs. Elizabeth Nagy of Capek, W. Va. ii

Cpl. Robert Vizi

Services P-38s--------■«;

The “Johnstown Democrat’* carried quite a write-up about the important work done by Cpl. Robert Vizi, of Windber, Pa., son of Director Louis Vizi, The article reads as follows: f

“AN EIGHT A. A. F. PHOTOGROUP, Eng.—Cpl. Robert E, Vizi, 20 year old Windber, Pa., soldier is playing an important role in the terrific assault Allied air might is hurling at military, maritime and industrial installations in Nazi occupied Europe, He is an aircraft mechanic and assistant crew chief for a photographic squadron at this aerial reconnaissance station in England. As such it is his job to maintain the perfect operation of speedy, unarmed P-38 “Lightnings” flown by daring photo’ pilots on their solitary missions over enemy territory. The pictures taken by these pilots provide the information that sends; the big formations of Allied. bombers across the English Channel with their cargoes of power-; ful explosives. Cpl. Vizi is a sort of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis A. Vizi, 1103 Second St., Windber, and prior to entering the Army in. j March 1943, was a student at Windber High School. A brother, j Sgt. Arthur Vizi, is with a \ medical unit in Italy, and two , other brothers, Roland and Lewis, ■ recently entered the Army.”

Director Vizi is proud of his sons and justly so. We share j his pride in them and hope for; i their safe return after Victory hagt: been achieved!

ARE YOU AWARE

that the longer YOU PUT OFF INSURING YOUR LIFE the more

IT .WILL COST YOU