Turning the pages back...
May 31, 1948
On May 28-31, 1948, the founding convention of the Ukrainian American Veterans was held in Philadelphia at the Penn-Sheraton Hotel. Up until that point, Ukrainian veterans were active in local communities as individuals and within local posts, but they did not have a national coordinating body.
During the 1947 convention of the Ukrainian Youth League of North America Walter Bacad, Michael Darmopray, J. Konchak, Joseph Lesawyer, M. Nasevich and George Wolenetz took it upon themselves to call a convention of all Ukrainian American war veterans' organizations. Mr. Darmopray was in charge of the preparations for the convention, which was hosted by the Philadelphia post of the Ukrainian American War Veterans.
The first national convention of the UAV was attended by 55 delegates from various veterans' posts, primarily those active in the states of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Michael Hynda of the post in Newark, N.J., was elected as the national commander. Others elected to the UAV's first national executive board were: John Romanick, senior vice-commander; James Greenday, junior vice-commander; Charles Kredensor, finance officer; the Rev. Levytsky, chaplain; Mr. Swystun, judge advocate; and Michael Elko, historian.
Michael Gwiazda was appointed national adjutant, and Mr. Darmopray was nominated and approved as the new organization's first honorary national commander.
The Ladies Auxiliary Committee, represented by Ann Mitz and Olga Chernezsky, was charged with organizing the women's component of the UAV organization.
The convention passed a resolution supporting the Mundt-Nixon anti-Communist bill (which became the McCarran Act in 1950) and challenged the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic's delegation to the United Nations, stating that they do not represent the people of Ukraine. The UAV also expressed support for the Displaced Persons Bill and lauded the work of the United Ukrainian American Relief Committee (UUARC).
The convention banquet was addressed by various Ukrainian American community leaders, including Gregory Herman of the Ukrainian National Association, Dr. Walter Gallan of the UUARC and Stephen Shumeyko of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America.
The Ukrainian American Veterans' second annual convention was slated to be held in Newark over Memorial Day weekend in 1949.
Source: "Ukrainian vets hold convention," The Ukrainian Weekly, June 7, 1948; "Ukrainian American Veterans 1948-1998: Historical Analysis and Evaluation" by Dmytro Bodnarczuk, Ph.D., New York: Ukrainian American Veterans Inc., 1998.
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, May 29, 2005, No. 22, Vol. LXXIII
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