Hungarian
Defense Minister Ferenc Juhasz and U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul
Wolfowitz unveiled a monument to Revolutionary War hero Michael Kovats
de Fabricy today at the Embassy of Hungary in Washington, D.C.
"I
think it's quite a statement that there was a Hungarian who gave his
life for our freedom," said Secretary Wolfowitz to reporters
before the ceremony. "We've been partners for freedom for over
two centuries and it's a wonderful symbol that you're doing here
today," he added.
"Hungarian
by birth, American by choice," Kovats died fighting for American
independence at the Battle of Charleston, SC, in 1779. As a Hungarian
hussar officer in Empress Maria Theresa's army, and later in the
service of the French and Prussian kings, Kovats earned a reputation
as a great commander and military strategist. When he learned of the
American Declaration of Independence, he offered his services to
Benjamin Franklin. On the recommendation of General George Washington,
the U.S. Congress commissioned Kovats in 1778 as colonel and commander
of the First American (Pulaski) Legion, which he helped co-found.
Kovats led his troops to victory in several key battles of the
American Revolutionary War before falling in combat during the British
siege of Charleston.
In
1975, the late artist Paul Takacs, a longtime Washington resident and
refugee of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, was commissioned to create a
statue of Kovats by the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America. With
the intent of casting a life-size version in bronze, Takacs sculpted
Kovats and his horse from clay, depicting the moment Kovats is
mortally wounded. In the words of Takacs, the statue is a "symbol
of the eternal, sacred desire of man to be free." The life-size
bronze was cast in Hungary.
Click here to read a
transcript of the speeches
Click
here to read a news story about the event on the Pentagon website.
Minister Juhász and Secretary Wolfowitz unveiling the statue
Secretary Wolfowitz addresses the audience as Minister Juhász,
Ambassador Simonyi and Frank Koszorus, Jr. look on
Members of the First California Hussar Regiment circle the statue
Secretary Wolfowitz with Minister Juhász and
Ambassador Simonyi
