NEWS AND VIEWS: Perth Amboy veterans recall shared times, community service (11/24/96)

NEWS AND VIEWS

Perth Amboy veterans recall shared times, community service

by Tom Hawrylko

PERTH AMBOY, N.J. - The way Perth Amboy resident Mike Ekalo tells it, they were neighbors in north Amboy - young Ukrainian kids who grew up along the railroad tracks near their old church off of State Street in Perth Amboy.

But over half a century has passed from those carefree days of playing ball down in the tank fields across the tracks. World War II came and those kids became men. They enlisted, some died in action, others came back heroes, but serving together, the American Ukrainian Veterans of Perth Amboy made sure that Hitler and his cohorts were knocked back on their Axis.

In the 1940s, many of the gang married their hometown sweethearts, built homes in Perth Amboy, went to work in the factories. They became fathers and eventually grandfathers.

Some of their sisters married guys that weren't "Ukes," and new friendships began. Since then, generations of their families have been baptized or buried in our church, yet through it all, the Uke boys from north Amboy stayed together.

Back in their heyday, the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, you could find them hanging out at the Ukrainian American Democratic Club on State Street. Days when these veterans hosted great parish picnics and helped raise money for the new church and school on Alta Vista Place.

So here they are now, celebrating the 50th anniversary of their club. The Uke boys from north Amboy are still together. What kept these guys together over the six or seven decades since their youth? What is the glue that binds decades of friendships? How do you describe their "right stuff"?

"Born and raised with him," is how Spike Kosmyna, Perth Amboy's most decorated World War II veteran sums it up, pointing across the table at no one in particular, but the whole gang of them. "That means we were together from the beginning, and we'll always be together, to the end."

"We were neighbors, school kids. "We're like cousins," said Mike Ekalo, another veteran. "We're a close-knit unit, and we've been through a helluva lot together." Or like the Audie Murphy story, they've been "To Hell And Back."

These guys saw war, the Perth Amboy boom, the bust. Now they're watching their hometown and their church grow in different ways again. "That's why we're still active in the church and in the community," said Steve Koval of Carteret. "Born and raised, like Spike said. We care what happens here."

Born and raised. It's a magnetism that keeps pulling you back, said Charles Kosmyna, Spike's cousin. Back in 1937, he left for the U.S. Army Air Corps and didn't really stay active in the club until rejoining some 40 years later. "When I started coming around again, it was like I never left," he said.

Another so-called prodigal son is John Fetcishin of Fords. After the war, he got married in St. John's Church, moved to Fords, but said he also got a warm welcome back into the fold of the guys he grew up with when he returned.

Joe Markow was a medic during World War II. Now he's the club's chaplain and also associate cantor of the Ukrainian Assumption Church. Perhaps he summed it up best for the whole gang: "The Lord kept me safe during the war, and I'm happy to serve Him here now."

That's what American Ukrainian Veterans from north Amboy have been doing for the past 50 years: serving the Lord, serving our church and serving our community.

On November 10, the American Ukrainian Veterans hosted a 50th anniversary celebration. It was a time to look back at their contributions, recall times they shared and a chance to remember friends and family no longer with them. It was a good day to be an American Ukrainian Veteran!

May You Live Many Years! Mnohya Lita!

At 39, Tom Hawrylko is the youngest member of the American Ukrainian Veterans of Perth Amboy. A U.S. Navy veteran, he is originally from Perth Amboy and now resides in Clifton. He was the master of ceremonies for the club's 50th anniversary celebration.