As If It All Happened Yesterday…

On January 19, just like in the last four years, the representatives of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, the Hungarian Defence Forces, and the defence ministries of the two countries gathered again in Hejce to commemorate the air crash at the memorial erected in the center of the village.

It was on this day that an AN–24 military transport aircraft crashed into the Borsó Hill just outside the village. The airplane was carrying peacekeeping troops who had just finished their service abroad, from Pristina, Kosovo to the military base in Ko*ice.

The inquiry that followed the tragedy found that after takeoff the plane was heading towards its destination without any problem, but at 19.40 it crashed into the 800-meter high Borsó hill between Hejce and Telkibánya. It is probable that the error of the pilot, who was approaching the Kassa airport with the naked eye, without the help of any instrument, was in the background of the accident. According to the findings of the inquiry it is probable that the pilot began losing height too early – he descended eight hundred meters in two minutes – and did not take the Zemplén Mountains into account.

The crew and the returning peacekeepers were instantly killed in the accident, only one officer, 1st Lieutenant Farkas Martin – who was 27 at the time – survived the tragedy and he almost miraculously got away with minor injuries only. And what is more, it was him who called his wife on his mobile phone and told her about the catastrophe.

Four years have passed since the tragedy, but the signs of the disaster are still visible on the Borsó Hill near Hejce: trees torn out by the root, charred tree trunks show where the greatest air crash in the history of the Slovak Republic happened. The representatives of the Hungarian and the Slovakian defence ministry erected a 2,5-meter high granite block on the scene of the accident in the same year, more precisely on June 2. A year later a memorial park was opened near the obelisk, where the names, photographs, and ranks of the deceased Slovakian soldiers can be found on the forty-two wooden memorials. Simultaneously with the opening of the memorial park – on July 20, 2007 – the monument in Béke (peace) Square, the center of the village, the work of sculptor László Szabó from Galánta, was also inaugurated.

In addition to the families and relatives, Jaroslav Ba¹ka, the Minister of Defence of the Slovak Republic, Dr. Ágnes Vadai, the State Secretary of the Hungarian Ministry of Defence, General Lubomír Bulik, the Chief of Defence Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, and General (eng.) László Tömböl, the Chief of Defence Staff of the Hungarian MoD were also present at the commemoration held on the fourth anniversary of the tragedy. The ceremony began with the dignitaries laying wreaths on the memorial of the peacekeepers. The representatives of Hungarian and Slovakian military corps that participated in the rescue operation, and 1st Lieutenant Farkas Martin also laid their floral tribute.

Following that they played the Slovakian and the Hungarian national anthem, and the attendees remembered the victims of the air crash with a minute of silence. Jaroslav Ba¹ka began his memorial speech by emphasizing that on the anniversary of the tragedy, infinite emptiness and indescribable sadness overcome every relative. Despite the passing of time, grief overcomes everyone, and the four years that have passed since then could not ease the pain of the souls.

– Today we stand here grief-stricken, with painful memories, and feel as if it all happened yesterday. We think about the coincidence of cruel circumstances and the ruthless moment that decided everything instead of the soldiers, when the thread of their lives was broken – said the Slovakian defence minister, adding that the Slovakian soldiers had departed from Kosovo with plans and resolutions, and it probably never crossed their minds that they would not return home, to their loved ones alive.

– A man goes away, and does not return. Still, he leaves something behind. Something that can remain only after a human being. And it is nothing else but the work done for the benefit of society. His actions, acts, the intellectual and spiritual assets that are difficult to conceive and difficult to measure. Our fallen soldiers served their country in the armed forces and protected all of us. They tried to establish peace in a place where peaceful, calm, everyday life is in the making only slowly – said Jaroslav Ba¹ka, who continued with telling the attendees that in Hejce one becomes aware more than anywhere else: the military profession may also entail irrecoverable loss.

The Slovakian defence minister added: January 19 brings tears in the eyes of the relatives every year. But this loss is irreplaceable not only for the families but for the armed forces as well. Jaroslav Ba¹ka also emphasized that the memorial in Hejce will always remind Slovakians of the soldiers who had lost their lives. But it will also remind them of human cooperation and belonging together.

– Today allow me to thank the inhabitants of this small village and the nearby villages for what they did for our soldiers in January 2006. In addition to that, I thank the mayor and inhabitants of Hejce for looking after the memorial erected for the victims of the aircrash with love year after year – said the Slovakian defence minister.

The ceremony continued with the speech of Ágnes Vadai, who underlined that four years is a very short time and the only thing it can help with is to make the relatives accept what cannot be changed. That they do not have their loved ones, husbands, children, parents anymore.

– Let us remember the heroes who, true to their oath, had the courage to face death anytime, but it attacked them treacherously. The soldiers who had successfully completed their service in spite of the dangers, so that the citizens of a young state can live a better life, and a new democracy can be born. And remember the days when the news of the tragedy almost paralyzed everyone – said the state secretary of the Ministry of Defence, also mentioning that upon hearing the news of the catastrophe, everybody acted as one. The Hungarian soldiers, policemen, border guards, disaster prevention experts, the people of Hejce and the nearby villages were all working together with the Slovakian partners. All of them were fighting the severe weather and did their best to give the survivors a chance.

Ágnes Vadai emphasized: it has to be mentioned in connection with this horrible tragedy that Hungarian and Slovakian troops were and still are serving together in Kosovo, Cyprus, and Afghanistan. There are many Hungarian soldiers who knew the Slovakian peacekeepers who were killed in the air crash.

– The Slovakian military, the families had lost heroic soldiers, young lives, excellent professionals. Who were not only soldiers but parents, children, and good friends as well. The relatives and comrades can pay tribute to their memory here in Hejce, in this place that is worthy of heroes, at this memorial that has been built from the donations of the Slovakian and the Hungarian people – said the state secretary.

Following the prayer of the representatives of the Slovakian and the Hungarian army chaplain services all those who were present lit candles at the memorial. The commemoration ended with a memorial service in Slovakian, held in the church of Hejce.