Honouring The Memory Of Hungarian Heroes Of 1100 Years

At the event in Heroes’ Square, following the march of historic flags, the orchestra of the Hungarian Defence Forces played the national anthem, and bells honoured the memory of the deceased heroes.

The Hungarian soldier was often in a situation when he had to make a sacrifice in order to defend the nation or the country. And this sacrifice was the holiest and the greatest thing that a community can ever get from its members: life. Therefore on Hungarian Heroes’ Memorial Day we remember Hungarian soldiers who were true to their oath and died in the line of duty and service, as well as all the civilians who died while defending their country – the narrator told the attendees of the event in Heroes’ Square, then asked Defence Minister Dr. Imre Szekeres to deliver his speech.

– The high number of fatalities and the suffering in the battlefield during the devastating First World War made the politicians of the period bring a historical decision. This is how Heroes’ Day was designated in 1917. The shock had made honouring the heroes an obligation for generations. Honouring those who fulfilled their duty to the country, fellow citizens, partner nations, and the family – Imre Szekeres started his address, emphasizing that in our history there had been people who fought and made sacrifices in unequal battles the result of which was often uncertain, and they had done so not because of the words of their oath but because of honour. There are chronicles, folk ballads, folk tales, and even authentic historical sources about them. And these sources have preserved the memories of those who had lived the busy life of ordinary citizens and on whom history had stricken down with a huge power.

The defence minister emphasized: at Muhi and Mohács, our regular army had bled to death. But besides our well-trained soldiers, the farmers, the bourgeois, the tradesmen had also faced the arrows of the Mongols and the Turks. After nearly two centuries of uninterrupted defence and being a continuous frontline, under the flag of Rákóczi the Hungarian society had experienced the destructive power of the enemy again. And only 150 years later, during another fight for freedom, they had experienced it again. For in 1848, with the establishment of the legal predecessor of today’s Hungarian defence forces, each and every citizen of the country had asked for and had been given a task.

Imre Szekeres added: ten days ago, on the Day of National Defence, we commemorated the 160th anniversary of the liberation of the Buda Castle. The proud victory of an army which had relied on its own resources while protecting the country and which had become an institution to unify society and nation. Later the era of big wars brought mass armies and mass destruction. The backcountry did not provide protection for the families of the soldiers anymore. Hungarians – compared to the size of the population – had suffered heavy losses in both wars.

– We still have a reason to celebrate. We are celebrating the soldiers and the civilians whose names we know. We also celebrate the anonymous warriors and anonymous fellow citizens. For their death was senseless. The death of those who follow the flag to the line of fire voluntarily, seeking glory, is senseless, just like the death of those who are obliged to do that. But all of them are the heroes of the Hungarian homeland – said Imre Szekeres.

The head of the defence portfolio underlined: Hungarian Heroes’ Memorial Day is not a sad event. It cannot be sad since we are remembering people who may have known our fathers, grandparents, and their predecessors. They had lived together, made friendships, worked, laughed, and planned their collective future. But their fate was different…

– This memorial stone by which we are standing now has a special role. Although it also represents a grave, there has never been anybody resting here. It is not only the symbol of the final resting place of the unknown soldier, but it also preserves the memory of those who have died for the Hungarian homeland. Let us bow our head and think of the heroes of Hungarian history! – Defence Minister Imre Szekeres closed his address.

The ceremony continued with laying wreaths at the Heroes’ Memorial by Mr László Mandur, Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Zoltán Varga, Minister for Municipal and Rural Development, and Brigadier General Ferenc Palásti, Head of the Military Department of the Office of the President of the Republic. On behalf of the Ministry of Defence, Minister Imre Szekeres and MoD Chief of Defence Staff General László Tömböl laid a wreath. Flowers of remembrance were placed by the representatives of the political parties, members of the military attaché corps accredited to Budapest, the leaders of law enforcement organizations, the representatives of public associations and organizations supporting the cause of national defence, as well as the representatives of the National Memorial and Tribute Committee.

The ceremony held on Hungarian Heroes’ Memorial Day continued in the new public cemetery of Rákoskeresztúr, in Heroes’ Cemetery Memorial Park. At the event it was said that it was initiated in 1915 for the first time that every village should erect a stone memorial to record the names of the heroes who had fallen in the world war. The initiative was enacted in 1917, when the construction of memorials was made compulsory.

In 1924, another act stipulated that remembering Hungarian heroes on the last Sunday of May was to be the memorial day for heroes and a national holiday. After World War II, the ceremony was prohibited due to its political and symbolic content. In 2001, the National Assembly of the Republic of Hungary enacted a law on Hungarian Heroes’ Memorial Day to honour the memory of every Hungarian hero in the previous centuries who had shed their blood or sacrificed their lives for the freedom and independence of the country and the nation.

Mr Péter Boross, the former Prime Minister of the Republic of Hungary and Chairman of the National Memorial and Tribute Committee said in his address: since this memorial park exists they come here and bow before the memorial of the Hungarian soldier every year. Because we must honour the memory of those who had given their lives and died a hero’s death for a thousand years in order to preserve the nation and protect the country.

– Here, in this place, this stone pillar is a worthy symbol. And this commemoration is the result of the pain of a nation. For when we are talking about the heroic death of the Hungarian soldier, we also owe ourself. Because after five centuries of glory and conquest, the relentless law of history had reached our country as well. A greater power appears the country cannot oppose anymore, not even for the price of a terrible sacrifice. This is what happened in Mohács – said Péter Boross, who recalled the blood-soaked history of the past centuries, adding: since Mohács, it has often happened that the Hungarian soldier had to take up arms in order to defend the country in a hopeless fight. Often for himself, and often for others.

The former prime minister underlined: led by the instinct of survival, on many occasions the Hungarian soldier had taken up arms with a heroism that was often helpless and opposed the forces that seemed to be invincible at the time. It often happened that Hungarians fought when they had already lost their faith in victory. And they were still fighting. For the main moral order for a soldier is to persevere, perform well, and fulfil his duty as long as he can.

MoD Chief of Defence Staff General (Eng.) László Tömböl said in his address: in our world there are only a few eternal and numerous transitory things around us. For instance human life and glory are transitory. Eternal is the idea that obliges the living to honour the dead. It is the moral obligation of the successors, of the whole nation to duly commemorate the Hungarian heroes of the past 1100 years and to express their gratitude to those who had shed their blood and sacrificed their lives for the survival of the nation, the freedom and independence of the country.

– Decisions to launch wars are made by those who have the power, the operations are planned by the strategists, but it is the soldiers who engage in fight and many of them do not live to see peace. What remains after them are wooden graveposts or unmarked graves, and remembrance. And paying a tribute is a must because a nation lives in its history, it gets its moral power from history – said the chief of the defence staff, adding: we must preserve the memory of known and unknown military heroes of the past, for the determination, resolution and will that have served the rise of society and the security of the nation is indispensable even in our times.

– In the area around the Republic of Hungary there is peace now, however, there are still some processes posing a threat to our security. The Euro-Atlantic allied systems guarantee the peace of our region and put and end to crisis zones. The Hungarian Defence Forces have been participating in this mission for one and a half decades. Unfortunately, even our latest missions have victims. In Iraq, Corporal Richárd Nagy, in Afghanistan, Sergeant First Class Gyula Kovács and Captain Krisztián Nemes had died in the line of duty. On the day of heroes, we are remembering them as well – said Gen. Tömböl.

The general also mentioned in his speech that thousands of our soldiers who had died as heroes during our history rest in the new public cemetery of Rákoskeresztúr. In earlier days the sons of 42 nations had rested in the plots, making Rákoskeresztúr the second largest military cemetery in Europe after Verdun, France. Today there are hundreds of Hungarian soldiers resting in eternal sleep in the renovated public cemetery. But this memorial stone commemorates all their comrades, including those who were buried here for a period. The very memorial stone which is decorated with the wreaths of remembrance on Hungarian Heroes’ Memorial Day, the last Sunday of May since 2002.

– Remembering the sacrifices and the glorious events of the past, and the faith in the future are what nurse the patriotic feelings and the commitment to the cause of national defence – General László Tömböl closed his address.

Following the general’s speech, in Heroes’ Cemetery Memorial Park those who were present at the event laid wreaths and flowers of remembrance, and the ceremony ended with the tune of Il Silentio.