Veterans' post in Yonkers finds its niche: humanitarian activity (05/28/00)

Veterans' post in Yonkers finds its niche: humanitarian activity

by Roma Hadzewycz

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - Thanks in part to a neophyte group of Ukrainian American Veterans in Yonkers, N.Y., a little boy from Ukraine will be able to lead a normal life.

Denis Baistruchenko, 9, whose heart ailment - a narrowing of the aorta - was discovered when he was only 10 months old, came to this country for special treatment that was not available in Ukraine. After surgery at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, the future seems brighter for the little boy from Kitsman, near the city of Chernivtsi, in the Bukovyna region of Ukraine.

Denis and his mother, Zinaida, arrived in the United States on April 14. (Originally, Denis was to be accompanied by his father, Volodymyr, but, ironically, Mr. Baistruchenko suffered a heart attack only three weeks before the scheduled trip.) The Baistruchenkos' trip was funded by the Rotary Club's Gift of Life program, a not-for-profit organization of the Rotarians of District 7520 whose purpose is to provide open-heart surgery to needy children around the globe.

Recalling how it all came to be, Mrs. Baistruchenko said her son was on the list of patients awaiting medical attention at the cardiology institute in Kyiv. In July 1999 check up results revealed that Denis' condition had worsened and that the only solution was surgery. Denis, she added, was not aware of this. His medical profile, along with that of other children, was sent off to the United States for evaluation.

Then, in February of this year, the Baistruchenkos received word: Denis was selected for treatment in the United States at Montefiore. "We were in shock. We did not expect this," his mother related. "We began to get our documents in order for the big trip."

Meanwhile, in this country, the Rotarian Harold Bochonko, an active member of the Ukrainian American Veterans, enlisted the aid of Ukrainian American Veterans of newly founded Post 301 in Yonkers. The post, which unites veterans from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines who served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm and several peacekeeping operations, adopted the Baistruchenko case; Post Commander Taras Szczur, 44, a former Marine sergeant, opened his home to Denis and his mother, serving as their host in this country. Peter and Theodore Oleschuk, who are affiliated with the Gift of Life Program, were instrumental in arranging the family's travel.

On his fourth day in the United States, Denis went into the hospital, still unaware that he was a candidate for surgery. On the next day, April 19, he underwent angioplasty performed by Dr. Henry Issenberg, associate professor of pediatrics, radiology and cardiothoracic surgery at the Children's Medical Center at Montefiore, Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Both Montefiore and Dr. Issenberg waived their fees for the life-saving surgery.

The prognosis: very good

During an interview at the editorial offices of The Ukrainian Weekly less than a month after his successful operation, Denis, an animated third-grader, commented: "I feel better; I feel that I have a lot more energy." His mother, a nurse with 24 years of experience who works at the children's trauma center of the Chernivtsi City Hospital, chimed in, adding that "It will take a while for his body to catch up, but the prognosis is very good. In a year we will go for a check-up in Kyiv."

Noting that Denis is a very active child, both physically and mentally, Mrs. Baistruchenko said, "He has to take it easy for a while, but he should be able to lead a totally normal life."

Speaking just days before he returned to Ukraine, Denis said he enjoyed his brief stay in the United States. "I like it here, I feel quite at home. I'd like to see more," he noted. His mother added: "We feel as if we are not foreigners here; we are among our people, fellow Ukrainians, who are taking such good care of us. We do not feel as if we are far away from home."

Mrs. Baistruchenko emphasized that she and her family are very moved by the kindness of strangers who have literally changed their lives. She expressed thanks "to all the doctors and others who felt our pain and helped us - especially the Szczur family. We thank God that such people exist, and we are grateful for the Ukrainian diaspora."

That gratitude was very much in evidence as Denis and his mother arrived on May 20 in Kyiv, where they were greeted with TV cameras. Ukrainian national television aired footage showing Denis as he got off the plane, waving the American flag given him by Commander Szczur and thanking his new American friends.

Back to the beginning

Sometimes there's a reason that things happen when they do. That's fate.

In mid-April 1999, just as a newly established post of Ukrainian American Veterans, Post 301 in Yonkers, N.Y., was gearing up for its official blessing ceremony and installation of officers, news broke of a Ukrainian cargo ship, the Mikhail Stenko, stranded without supplies in Yonkers. The vessel was docked at the Jack Frost Sugar Refinery, where it had arrived to deliver sugar picked up in the Dominican Republic.

A local Ukrainian activist, Mr. Szczur, paid a visit to the ship. He learned of the crew's dire straits when he innocently asked to see the ship's galley and saw that the refrigerator was, for all intents and purposes, empty.

"As it all happened, within a few hours' time span from the time the news broke we got food for them," recalled Mr. Szczur. His post delivered $1,300 in supplies to the cargo vessel and its crew of 25.

The post's official blessing and installation of the post's first officers - Commander Szczur, Vice-Commander Nicholas Skirka and Stephen Rudyk, Financial Officer William Zakotiria, Quartermaster John Tkachuk and Chaplain Peter Olijarczyk - took place just a couple of days later, on April 17, 1999, at St. Michael's Ukrainian Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Youth Center in Yonkers, N.Y. Among the many dignitaries in attendance UAV National Commander Steven Szewczuk, Yonkers Mayor John Spencer, Ukraine's Military Attaché to the United Nations Vasyl Sydorenko, representatives from the New York governor's office and the county government, as well as officials of 18 local veterans' groups.

Local newspapers reported on the post's formation, as well as on its first, very visible, humanitarian mission. "Yonkers rallies to help Ukrainian sailors" read one headline in The Journal News.

"The publicity helped us make others aware of who Ukrainians are and what they have to contribute towards the community," Commander Szczur recalled.

A mere four months later there was news of another stranded cargo ship - this one the Znamia Oktiabria (Banner of October) anchored in Gravesend Bay off Brooklyn. The ship, with its crew of 26, had actually been in port since April, its further progress halted due to the Azov Shipping Company's canceled shipments. Four months later the crew found itself in desperate need of supplies. Once again Post 301 came through with donated food and supplies - a ton and a half - delivered by Commander Szczur and Vice-Commander Skirka.

The post's second relief mission also made headlines, this time even in The New York Times.

The mission becomes clear

Mr. Szczur related: "When we founded the post we had no idea what type of work we'd be involved in."

Now, it seems, the post's mission has crystallized. "By being in the right place at the right time, we became involved in humanitarian causes, and we have pledged to continue this work," he stated.

And thus, the veterans of Yonkers who served their country in the U.S. military continue to serve.

Three of post's members are on the Central Committee of War Veterans (Mr. Szczur is the committee's senior vice-commander), which unites 19 veterans' groups in Yonkers and coordinates such activities as decorating the graves of veterans, police officers and firefighters in Yonkers cemeteries in advance of Memorial Day and the annual Memorial Day parade.

On April 5 Post 301 held its first annual elections. Re-elected were: Commander Szczur, Vice-Commanders Skirka and Rudyk; Quartermaster Tkachuk and Chaplain Olijarczuk; new members of the slate are Financial Officer Eugene Brozyna and Sergeant-at-Arms Peter Kaszczak.

The one-year-old post blessed its flag in special ceremonies held on Sunday, May 21, at St. Michael's Ukrainian Catholic Church, with some 30 to 40 veterans from Yonkers - both Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians - attending.

What's in store

So, will the post take a respite for the summer? Don't bet on it.

There's another child, a 12-year-old girl from Kryvyi Rih, arriving from Ukraine for life-saving surgery via the Gift of Life program, and the post - which now encompasses 30 veterans whose average age is in the early 40s - is in the planning stages of starting a Gift of Life group in Yonkers.

Then there's the post's participation in the annual "Zeleni Sviata" (a Ukrainian remembrance day) memorial services at Holy Spirit Cemetery in Hamptonburgh, N.Y., where the veterans will decorate the graves of their fellow soldiers, as well as the annual Ukrainian Festival in June on the grounds of St. Michael's Church, where the group will promote awareness of its work and that of the UAV in general.

In the fall the Yonkers vets are organizing a fund-raising dance featuring the Burya band of Canada, plus two treats for children: a "Barabolya" concert and a circus.

Add to all this the post's involvement with the national UAV in lobbying the U.S. Congress for passage of a bill to grant a national charter to the Ukrainian American Veterans - and the sum is a busy schedule for any organization.

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