Honouring Fallen Comrades

On 11 December 2002, the United Nations Organization designated 29 May as the International Day of UN peacekeepers. This day is Hungarian Peacekeepers’ Day as well and on the occasion of that a ceremony was held at the National Military Memorial in Pákozd on Friday.

At the event – the participants of which included Mr István Balsay, Chairman of the Fejér county General Assembly, Mr János Takács, Mayor of Pákozd, Mr Gábor Molnár, Mayor of Sukoró, and Mr Istvány Orgovány, Chairman of the Pákozd Military Memorial Committee – Lieutenant General Tibor Benkõ, Commander of HDF Joint Forces Command delivered a speech and also greeted the present families and friends of Hungarian soldiers who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

– Here, at the memorial of peacekeeping troops there is a slab of black marble. With a simple sentence: "their last will was peace". Can there be a more noble and greater sacrifice offered by a man who really sacrificed his life for peace? For we always say that there is no greater value than a man’s life – said Lt.Gen. Benkõ, adding: those soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of other nations had fulfilled their task as they had sworn to do. For a soldier it means that if the situation requires so, he is willing to sacrifice his life in order to fulfill the task he has endeavoured to do.

– Hungarian peacekeepers have been participating this in noble mission all over the world for almost one and a half centuries. At the end of the 19th century, the first peacekeeping troops of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy were serving on the island of Crete. Later came the Chinese Boxer Uprising, Kosovo, Albania, Vietnam, and the current tasks of peace missions. Today there are two thousand troops on mission in thirteen countries on three continents, and we have seventeen mission-related assignments. These assignments aim at preserving world peace, helping other nations so that they can cope, they can grow up in a more livable world, and join an European standard of life – underlined the Commander of the Joint Forces Command.

Lt.Gen. Tibor Benkõ emphasized: those who have never been on a mission cannot imagine the extent of misery, poverty, and the humiliating circumstances our troops – who risk their lives when undertaking this challenge – often face. This is exactly why one must be absolutely dedicated.

The troops who will serve the next tour of duty in Afghanistan in the Hungarian Provincial Reconstruction Team were also present at the event. Speaking to them, Lt.Gen. Benkõ emphasized: during their mission they will not only represent the interests of the Hungarian Defence Forces but the Republic of Hungary, the Hungarian nation, and the Hungarian people as well. They must work and serve in this spirit.

– But you must not forget that your parents, relatives, children will be waiting for you to return. What I would like is that there would be no more names on this slab of marble – Lt.Gen. Benkõ emphasized, turning to the Hungarian soldiers preparing for Afghanistan.

The Commander of the Joint Forces Command also said that he is proud of every Hungarian soldier who serve in missions, because it requires courage, camaraderie, and heroic performance.

– The Peacekeepers’ Day is a celebration but I would add that it is also a tribute. A tribute to soldiers who have made a sacrifice. A bow and a salutation for the fallen comrades. Since it is our duty to honour and cherish the memory of our fallen servicemen and we must not forget that peace and security are the key tasks of the troops – said Lt.Gen. Benkõ.

Mr Tibor Viniczai, the Deputy Mayor of Székesfehérvár underlined in his address: the Pákozd memorial is not only the symbol of Fejér county but of the whole country. Since patriotism is a feeling that has to be shaped consciously, which, turning into an internal urge, will lead to the protection of the country if necessary.

– This place, Pákozd, had a major role in history in the defence of the country. We know that in this area there had been fights even before the battle of September 1848. This is exactly why this place is also the symbol of national union – said Mr Tibor Viniczai.

The deputy mayor of Székesfehérvár emphasized: simultaneously with this event, there is another ceremony held in Doberdo, Italy, six hundred kilometers from Pákozd. President László Sólyom is inaugurating the chapel built during the First World War to honour the memory of Hungarian soldiers – among them the heroes of the Royal Hungarian 17th Infantry of Székesfehérvár. However, the possibility to inaugurate the chapel has arisen only now, 91 years later.

– With the continuous development of the Pákozd Military Memorial in the past ten years our aim has been to create a place where we can pay a tribute to the Hungarian soldier and remember our heroes – Mr Viniczai emphasized, adding: the Hungarian soldier had often made superhuman efforts to fulfil his tasks. If the situation required so, he sacrificed his life for the sake of success.

In his address the deputy mayor also mentioned that with erecting a memorial for the heroes and soldiers of the past and the present in this battlefield which had been soaked with blood several times, to honour the memory of every Hungarian soldier, they are making up for a long outstanding liability. Today’s soldiers are worthy of their predecessors since they are also led by the love for their country. Even though they are physically thousands of kilometers from the country, they are at home in their thoughts.

– The generations growing up today do not have to join the service as enlisted personnel. But we must not forget that the protection of the country is the duty of every Hungarian citizen. This is one of the reasons why we believe it is highly important that in addition to the continuous development of our five-year-old voluntary military, we should not forget about the education of the next generation either. Our aim is that every young man and woman should know and love their country – Mr Viniczai underlined.

After the speeches, the central event held on the occasion of Hungarian Peacekeepers’ Day continued with wreath-laying. Lt.Gen. Tibor Benkõ, Mr István Balsay, Mr János Takács, and Mr Gábor Molnár have laid their wreaths at the Peacekeepers’ Memorial. The commander of the contingent to leave for Afghanistan, Colonel László Szabó, and Scevik Dusan, Secretary of the Slovakian Representation of the Association of International Peacekeeping Missions, Mr István Orgovány, the Chairman of the Pákozd Military Memorial Committee have also laid wreaths, and so did the representatives of social and interest protection organizations supporting the cause of national defence, and the relatives and family members of Hungarian soldiers who died in the line of duty in peacekeeping missions. At the end of the event, all those who attended the ceremony could place flowers of remembrance on the pedestal of the memorial.