Visiting Units Overseas, Honoring Support of our Allies, Praying for Ukraine

Denise Doring VanBuren, President General

February 28, 2022

Like many of you, I spent the weekend intensely following coverage of the tragic events unfolding in Ukraine. Please join me in prayer and support for all those impacted by this heartbreaking, dangerous and volatile situation. As freedom-loving people, we must stand united with the Ukrainians, who deserve the fundamental human rights of self-governance and peace.

The tragedy is especially compelling to me, as our delegation of 12 DAR members and their spouses departed Eastern Europe just hours before the invasion began, following an official visit to Hungary to honor the birthplace of a Revolutionary War Patriot. That ceremony culminated a memorable week of official functions that also honored Spanish contributions to the American Revolution and featured the second Units Overseas DAR Conference. Here are highlights:

-- SPAIN, Feb. 15-20 --

Units Overseas Conference

I am so deeply grateful to — and so immensely proud of — the 1,000 women who are members of our Units Overseas! The Second Units Overseas Conference was conducted at St. George’s Anglican Church in Madrid. The successful forum, which was hosted by the Espana Chapter, included an opportunity to both recognize and hear from representatives of the six attending chapters: Espana (Spain), Palatinate (Germany), Pax Roma (Italy), Rochambeau (France), Sasebo (Japan) and Walter Hines Page (United Kingdom). Their reports were inspiring!

They heard from each of our attending executive officers and learned more about the state of our Society. I was overjoyed to salute three attendees who are U.S. Navy Veterans (with a combined service of 63 years!), and I was so deeply touched when members of the Espana Chapter presented me with Benefactor Level support for my President General’s Project, as well as many other thoughtful gifts. I am grateful to those of you around the world who support these chapters as associate members — much of what they accomplish in their local communities is made possible by your generosity.

Extreme appreciation is expressed to Units Overseas National Chair Cynthia McNamara, Espana Chapter Regent Elizabeth Wise, Honorary Chapter Regent Molly Long and members of their working group, who toiled behind the scenes for months to make all of the necessary arrangements – a feat that would have been challenging in normal times but became especially so due to the pandemic. Excelente trabajo, señoras! Y gracias!

Ceremonies/events in Madrid, Malaga and Macharaviaya, Spain

We dedicated two new tile plaques, one to honor Bernardo de Galvez in his charming hillside hometown of Macharaviaya (with its 300 residents!) and a second to thank the people of Malaga, who donated funds to support the American Revolution. Our itinerary also included the opportunity to rededicate a plaque placed in 2006 to honor Spanish support of the American Revolution at the beautiful Casa de America in Madrid by President General Presley Merritt Wagoner. How thrilling it was to honor Spanish support of ancestors’ quest for independence!

We also toured the 4,000-room Royal Castle, in which King Carlos III lived when he granted his approval to support the Americans in their fight against the British. We visited the Spanish Navy Museum, dined with members of the Bernardo de Galvez Association, enjoyed a flamenco show(!), paid respects at the Spanish Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and along the way met thousands of warm and welcoming citizens, elected officials and members of local news media. The reception to our visit was simply outstanding, and you should be proud of the way that we were received as honored guests in this country that contributed so decisively to our nation’s independence nearly 250 years ago.

-- HUNGARY, Feb. 20-23 --

Special Events and Tours

We arrived early in Budapest and in time to take in a tour of the statue of George Washington erected by Hungarian Americans in 1906, as well as St. Stephan’s Cathedral, The Buda Palace, the changing of the guard and other important landmarks here. We are impressed by the commitment to the restoration of historic buildings that were destroyed during World War II and then neglected during the communist era. Our delegation was also honored to later visit the beautiful Hungarian Parliament for a private tour.

A highlight was dinner at the residence of the U.S. Ambassador to Hungary. Thank you to Marc D. Dillard, Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy, and his staff for a night that we shall never forget. Delicious Hungarian cuisine, stimulating conversation and a warm sense of camaraderie made for an extraordinary evening, indeed.

We are also deeply grateful to Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy, who acted as our host, tour guide and translator during our three-day visit. He is a prominent Hungarian economist, businessman and photographer, who made the mistake of befriending me (!) last October when we were both in France to honor the centennial of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC), a college of advanced studies in Hungary, also helped to arrange portions of our trip, including a visit with Balazs Orban, Deputy Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, as well as to speak with students, faculty and administrators.

Honoring a Patriot in Karcag

Michael Kovats de Fabriczy was born in Karcag, Hungary, in 1724. A nobleman, he became an officer in the Hungarian, and later a captain in the Prussian, cavalries; next, he fought alongside freedom fighters in Poland. In 1777, he offered his sword to the American ambassador in France, Benjamin Franklin. Kovats, who would ultimately give his life in that service in Charleston, S.C., is considered one of two “Fathers of the American Cavalry.”

Our National Society was deeply honored to dedicate a bronze marker in his memory on the façade of an elementary school that bears his name in this Central Hungarian farming community. (An identical companion plaque will be dedicated at the Old Exchange in Charleston to memorialize Kovats’ line-of-duty death on May 10). I find it impossible to express the outpouring of support that welcomed us – hundreds of community members, students, soldiers, re-enactors and elected officials planned an astounding day of activities that included the formal ceremony, a tour, a delicious Hungarian luncheon (featuring the local goulash and dessert specialties), a lecture about the life of Kovats and a concert in the town hall. Their hospitality was overwhelming and their generosity astounding, as they presented us with gifts and life-long memories from our too-short visit to their town.

I must extend my personal thanks and admiration to National Chair of DAR Tour and Travel Virginia Lingelbach, who led our delegation on the journey and never wavered in her enthusiasm for the challenging assignment. Truly: she brought the sunshine! Historian Genera Laura Kessler prepared all of our ceremonies, for which we are most grateful. And many thanks to my husband, Chris, for being my photographer and all-purpose “schlepper” throughout the entire journey!

(Enjoy many other details and plenty of photographs by visiting my DAR President General Facebook Page.)

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