Human Interest - HL 239 (1)

From the Greatest Generation

My Greatest Hero - Emil Sztanyo

By Mark Sztanyo

The tribute below was presented to my father on Father’s Day 2009 by a loving son. My love for him is far from unwarranted. He spent his life in sacrifice, commitment, and dedication to his faith, family and community. Now that we just had his funeral I believe it fitting to share this.

There are many thoughts that we keep but are seldom shared if ever. Sometimes we fail to express words of importance to ones we love.

The following contains some of my personal thoughts that I hold dear.

So many things that we see in life, we intuitively ask a frequent question, “Where did that come from?” Just think of the times or things that you have encountered when that question came to mind. Sports acumen, achievement, bravery/valor, leadership, parenting (or lack of same), or  commitment to faith, family and marriage to list just a few. Underlying my following thoughts about my father, I can’t help but often times think of that question. While I do not pretend to know the answer in every case, before the end I will share my impression.

When Tom Brokaw wrote his book “the Greatest Generation” many of us felt a common sense of agreement. Tom’s writes, "In the spring of 1984, I went to the northwest of France, to Normandy, to prepare an NBC documentary on the fortieth anniversary of D-Day, the massive and daring Allied invasion of Europe that marked the beginning of the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. There, I underwent a life changing experience. As I walked the beaches with the American veterans who had returned for this anniversary, men in their sixties and seventies, and listened to their stories, I was deeply moved and profoundly grateful for all they had done. Ten years later, I returned to Normandy for the fiftieth anniversary of the invasion, and by then I had come to understand what this generation of Americans meant to history. It is, I believe, the greatest generation any society has ever produced."

Brokaw got it right.  What took place to and within that generation of Americans …………………………………………………………………

……………………..Read More at:  http://sztanyofamily.homestead.com/Emil/Tribute_to_Emil_booklet_w_pics.pdf

 


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