COMMENTARY: If I had five minutes with Congress... (08/15/04)

UKRAINIAN AMERICAN VETERANS: Active in our communities

COMMENTARY: If I had five minutes with Congress...

by Paul Hlynsky
Post 28 Commander

As Americans we are very lucky. We live in the greatest country in the world. We live a life of freedom that many around the world can only dream about and hope to experience.

We have a very responsive government. I have traveled to Washington as a union president to lobby for numerous labor issues, and I can honestly say that every time I've asked for an appointment to see various senators and congressmen I have gotten it - even when they knew I did not live in the areas they represent. I bet if you compare governments around the world, that doesn't happen in very many places.

However, I sometimes dream of an opportunity to address all of Congress forfive minutes. What would I say? Well, I thought about it and would like to share it with you.

I would tell Congress that in addition to being a proud American, a veteran who is proud to have served his country, and would do so again in a moment's notice (unfortunately the years have taken their toll and I am well past the age limit), and a proud Ukrainian American.

I come from a proud Ukrainian American family that is grateful to this nation and has never asked for anything in return. They came to the United States with $2 in their pocket after suffering the horrors of World War II. They carved out a life for our family, raised three kids and somehow made ends meet without any help. They vote in every election, celebrate national holidays that honor this country, stand up for the United States of America at every opportunity and pray for it. That is why there are a few things that I don't understand and would want to address in my five minutes.

I would ask what is the reluctance in granting a national charter to the Ukrainian American Veterans. I would tell them that in my post there are veterans who have served in all the armed forces of the United States, and all our wars. We have veterans who were there on D-Day, fought at the Battle of the Bulge, Iwo Jima, Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway. We have veterans who fought in the mountains of Korea and the jungles of Vietnam. Yes, some years ago I even had the honor and privilege to talk to World War I veterans who fought unbelievable battles of trench warfare which were incredibly bloody.

We have servicemen of Ukrainian descent currently in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and other areas around the world. In our post, we even have a member of the Waves. I can't remember when I haven't seen her wearing red, white and blue, or participating in veterans programs.

If this great country of ours grants charters to other groups (and they all deserve it) such as Italian Americans, Greek Americans, Polish Americans, Spanish Americans and countless others, there is absolutely no reason - no excuse - for not granting a national charter to Ukrainian American Veterans. The blood they shed for America's freedom was just as precious. Ukrainian Americans were, are and always will be loyal American citizens just as are the other nationalities which make up the United States.

Hopefully, I would still have two and one half minutes to ask Congress why there is such a reluctance to formally recognize that nearly 10 million Ukrainians were murdered and starved to death by Joseph Stalin through his forced collectivization. This was a genocide of the Ukrainian people. It happened. It has been proven it happened. The old Soviet Union reluctantly admitted it happened. The remnants of that government just don't want to remember or be reminded of it.

There is never an excuse for murder and mass murder. There was no excuse for the murder of millions of Jewish people by Adolph Hitler. I have been to Holocaust remembrance services, and have yet to walk away with dry eyes. There was no excuse for the mass murder of people in Africa, Bosnia, Serbia, Poland or any place else in the world.

The millions of Ukrainians who died at the hands of Stalin deserve a monument in Washington so this horrid event is not forgotten by anyone. Ten million people! The United States has never looked the other way from atrocities around the world or in this country. I would ask our representatives to not look the other way on this atrocity.

Finally, with 30 seconds left, I would ask Congress to seek the truth about Ukraine. The potential is there for a great ally. Unfortunately, the government of Ukraine is still plagued by old Communists who, hopefully, are finally being voted out. Market reforms have come about and will be perfected. It is difficult to form a flawless democracy in 13 years.

American military advisors to Ukraine should be learning the Ukrainian language at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif., not Russian. It is not the same. They should be working with the Ukrainian military to develop tactics that are common with NATO forces, which would lead to the eventual integration of Ukraine into NATO. There should be no advice given to the Ukrainian military using any languages other than Ukrainian or English. It is not my intent to offend Russia or its people, but realize this: Ukrainians are not Russians, Little Russians, or "little brothers" to Russia.

The history of Ukraine proves that, unfortunately, for many years the history of Ukraine was a forbidden subject under forced Soviet rule. Ukraine faces presidential elections this fall. I would ask the government of the United States to keep the pressure on to ensure that the elections are free and represent the will of the Ukrainian people. If that happens, Ukraine will finally elect a president who wants an independent Ukraine and a Ukraine that is a true ally of the West. This alliance would be a strategic victory and a great economic opportunity for the United States and Ukraine.

Did I go longer than five minutes? Maybe I did, but can you blame me? How many people have the opportunity to have five minutes with Congress?

I should have asked for 10.

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