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

1946 / Verhovay Journal

VOL. XXIX.

SEPTEMBER 25, 1946

NO. 18.

Chicago’s Verhovay Heroes Honored by a Thousand

Government, Army, Navy, Church, Radio, Pre** Join Fraternalists Paying Tribute To Hero Dead

CHICAGO, ILL., SEPTEMBER 8, SUNDAY.

After a night long rain Chicago awoke to a gloomy Sunday morning, but by the time the Memorial Ceremonies were to begin, the sun chased the clouds away as if to make sure that no one should miss this great occasion which was repeatedly announced by the press and over the radio. Verhovayans in Chicago had been preparing for months for this day and on that splendid afternoon they streamed to the Burnside Hall from all parts of the great metropolis. By four o’clock the huge auditorium seating a thousand, was jammed beyond capacity.

The stage, with the five veiled portraits, each placed on a pedestal, surrounded by palms, with two huge flags in the background, afforded the view of a beautifully arranged, deeply moving pageant. Below the stage was the speaker’s table at which were seated, facing the stage, the next of kin of the heroes, while the guests of distinction faced the audience.

A rich program of unusually high quality was presented on this memorable occasion. The utterances of the distinguished speakers were of such great signi ficance and import that no justice could be done to the Memorial Ceremonies conducted in Chicago except by printing in full most of the addresses heard on that afternoon. The length of this report, therefore, will be justified by the value of its contents, that put together and read together, amount to a complete course in American Democracy, in the highest Principles and Purposes of the nation in war and peace, in the tasks and ideals that had become our heritage due to the death of our heroes. To read such a course and to learn its lessons, is a privilege for fraternalists who are still willing to listen to the voices of our departed men, as conveyed to us by the inspired speakers attending Verhovay’s Memorial Day in Chicago.

Shortly after four o’clock Andrew Varga, president of Branch 37, and chairman of the Memorial Committee, arose to deliver the welcoming address.

“With sadness in my heart,” he said, “I welcome you to our memorial ceremonies for which we have been preparing since March. I greet you who came here to help us in this hour of mourning to pay tribute to the five young men who made the supreme sacrifice. They were our closest friends. They gave their lives so that by safeguarding our democratic way of life, we may live in freedom.

To you, parents and wives of these men, for whom their untimely death was a terrible blow, we express our deepest sympathy.

At the same time we express our thanks to the officers and directors of the Association, for having made it possible for us to present these beautiful, lifelike portraits to the parents of our heroes. Please, Mr. Szalancy and Mr. Szabó, convey our thanks to your fellow-officers for this fine act which will help these mourning parents in bearing their great sorrow.

I wish to take this opportunity to thank the Chicago branches for giving me the privilege to serve as the chairman of this Memorial Committee.

But, above all, I ask you, the mourning parents, to accept kindly these portraits which the Verhovay Fraternal Insurance 'Association has had made to preserve for posterity the memory of these gallant men. These pictures are so life-like and movingly beautiful that I couldn’t help getting tears in my eyes when unwrapping them. These men, who are the heroes of our country and our Association, will live for ever in the remembrance of their fellow-citizens.”

The National Anthem was sung by John Matany who was accompanied by Alexander Rudnyanszky, Chicago’s great Hungarian composer and pianist and, then Attorney W. A. Torok, Master of Ceremonies, had the colors presented. A group of the members of the

V. F. W., Post 5412, under Commander Matthew Liptak, took up their positions on the stage, behind each portrait, to act as Honor Guard throughout the ceremonies. Invocation was offered by the Rev. George Arpad, pastor of the Hungarian Reformed Church in Burnside. Major R. B. Cullins, U. S. Army, was the first speaker.

THE ARMY HONORS ITS DEAD.

“I am sincerely grateful that Lt. Gen. Walton H. Walker, Commanding General of the Fifth United States Army, has afforded me this opportunity to be

with you at these ceremonies commemorating your loved ones and my comrades in arms. General Walker sends his deepest appreciation to your memorial committee for the privilege of his having a representative here, for the Army is proud to remember the servicemen anytime, anywhere.

I do not feel—continued Major Cullins—that 1 come as a stranger among you to this ceremony, but rather as one of you for there is a bond between all of us in that we believe in and pay tribute to the same ideals.

This Memorial Day has been set aside by your group for exactly the same reason as for which the national Memorial Day was originally proposed by General John A. Logan, on May 30th, 1868. It is a day set aside for paying tribute to those heroic men and women who thought enough of their ideals, their country and their way of life as to be willing to work for it, fight for it, yes, even die for it.

What we do here today, can only in a small measure express the respect we have for these men, or relieve the heartaches of their loved ones. But we can take pride in remembering that the cause for which they gave their lives was a just cause in the eyes of both, men and God. We dedicate this memorial to the heroes who had the courage to keep this nation of ours as they desired it, as you desire it and as I desire it: A LAND OF FREE MEN.

No • uniform can be worn more produly than ours, no flag wave more honorably than ours, no country dedicated to a more democratic way of life than ours, and no people more able to pursue their way of life as ours, and all this, because men like these, whom today we honor, have made it possible.

I would like to offer to all of you one thought in Which those among you who were there will bear me out: that even though these men were laid to rest in foreign lands . . . that is the way they would have preferred it. While we were there, our only concern was for ourselves, the men in battle, our outfits, our buddies . . . We did not have to worry, thank God, about our families at home being bombed, shelled, or tortured. WE KNEW, IF WE DID OUR UTMOST WHERE WE WERE, THE RAVAGES OF WAR WOULD NEVER REACH OUR HOMES. And the proof of how well this superhuman task was done, is evident today in that this nation has not perished from earth.

This memorial is a symbol of that the deeds of these men will be remembered for ever. And our government, too, is making sure that this nation will strive to live up to their desires by helping all the nations in the world to enjoy that which we believe is the birthright of mankind: THE FOUR FREEDOMS.

Today, in every part of the world, the armed forces of the United States represent the American way of life, and are the symbol of American Power, not that of aggression, but a power working for the attainment of A WORLD, IN WHICH ALL MEN CAN LIVE WITHOUT FEAR.

WE AS AMERICANS HAVE PROVEN to the world, that ALL people, of ALL races, ALL creeds, ALL colors, CAN SUCCESSFULLY WORK AND LIVE TOGETHER. It is now OUR TASK, passed on to us who remain by the deeds of the men we honor today, NOT TO FORCE other nations to this kind of living, but BY EXAMPLE, GUIDANCE AND THE ELIMINATION OF TYRANNY, lead them on the road to this better way of living that we as a nation and you as individuals have paid such a high price for to secure.

• • We owe these men, their families, and their country a debt, which I believe, can be best expressed by the words of GENERAL JOHN J. PERSHING, who said:

“Those whose memory we revere, counted not the cost, nor shunned the sacrifice. They were not inspired by passion or hatred. They followed no ambitious prince or ruthless potentate. They were tempted by no lure of gain. They pursued no vague theory, nor did they follow after false Gods. But with a clear conception of spiritual and moral values, they hearkened only to the call of duty and obeyed the inspiration of righteousness. It is not necessary to recite the gallant deeds of the nation’s defenders, either living or dead. But it is for us to pay them tribute as we reverently take part in ceremonies of this day.

These sacred rites should arouse a new consciousness of the responsibility that rests upon us, to serve

the nation. They should inspire us to the reconsecration of onr lives to the better fulfillment of our obligations to the living.”

The audience, deeply impressed by the marvellous tribute of Major Cullins, applauded him with tremendous enthusiasm, and then the Master of Ceremonies introduced the Rev. Pastor George Arpad.

GOD KNOWS WHAT THESE ARMS HAD DONE

“There was a mother—said the speaker—who died when giving birth to her fifth child. Her oldest daughter, nine years old, knelt before her mother’s coffin vowing to take her mother’s place fulfilling all her duties and obligations. . She was true to her vow and did everything to bring up these orphaned children. But, at the age of 16, her health failed her and she was confined to a hospital. One day she had a visitor, a charitable lady who made it her task to visit the poor and the sick. She asked the young girl if she had ever partaken in the Lord’s Supper. The girl said: ‘No.’ The lady asked: ‘Did you ever attend church?’ Again the answer was: ‘No.’ And the lady said: ‘Little girl, you will soon have to answer the call of your Maker. What will you show Him when you appear before Him?’ The little girl lifted her right arm, showing the marks of hard toil, and said: ‘My God knows what these arms had done, just what each mark means’.” “We Americans of Hungarian descent can prove from the history of our country that the Hungarians, too, had kept their vow to the country adopting them. During the Independence War, Col. Michael DeKovats fought together with Magyar hussars for our country. They fought for freedom because Magyars had been doing just that for a thousand years. In the civil war, Lincoln had the help of three thousand Hungarian men. They had learned from Rakoezy to love liberty. And after Pearl Harbor, when our boys were called to arms, they fought in Asia, in Europe, in Africa, in the Atlantic and the Pacific, wherever the battle raged. They fought against the dictators for the freedom of the world. At the same time, American Hungarians on the home front, too, can show their arms and hands bearing the marks of hard toil. They had done a splendid job providing farm products and producing the implements of war. No one ever need to doubt the loyalty of immigrant Hungarians. We can lift our heads with pride, because we have given our all to the cause of freedom.”

The address was followed by a beautiful piano recital by Alexander Rudnyansky which was received with great applause.

Alderman of the 8th Ward, Mr. Olin, was the next speaker.

WHAT IS AMERICANISM?

“These men fought for Americanism,” said Aiderman Olin. “What does this term mean? There are many interpretations. Some interpret it as isolationism, others as an obligation to open our gates to the whole world and carry the problems of all mankind on our shoulders. Again others interpret it in terms of government of which various theories are expounded nowadays. Actually, there are only two types of government. One is, where the people are the masters, the other where the governor is the ruler. Today we are tom between many ideas and philosophies as to the ways of life and government. I believe, however, that these men had a clear-cut idea of what Americanism means. They considered the problems of the world in their own way and came to the right conclusion that we must do our best for our country and exert our influence for the benefit of our country. That’s what they had in mind. That’s what made them the defenders of Americanism. For this we honor them and for the loss of those who could not return, I extend my deepest and sincerest sympathy to their bereaved families.”

ASCENDING TO WHERE LOVE MEETS JUSTICE.

The Rev. William Tatter, pastor of the Hungarian Baptist Church of West Pullman, was introduced as the next speaker. He said: “As the children of two countries, we love America above all, but we cannot forget the old-country, especially not during these tragic (Continued on Page 2)