Erzsébet and József (center) were married in Zemplén Lázca and had five children (left-right): Bernard, Margaret, Joseph, Stephen and Anna (not pictured). All emigrated from Hungary to the United States from 1906-1912.

János Makayi was born in Ung Csáp in 1878. (Pictured is an inscription in his hand from his prayer book). He and his wife, Zofia had two dughters, the first was named Grace.

Grace Makayi married Bernard Hogya on November 16, 1918. They had seven children: Bernard Jr., Grace, Joseph, Grace Margaret, Robert, Elaine and Ernest.

Bernard Hogya Jr., was born on September 19, 1919. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps. during World War II where he fought battles on Midway, Guadalcanal and Okinawa.

He married Matilda Dombrowski on October 8, 1955. They had two children, Bernard III (that's me!) and James.

Lácza, today: the houses, church steeple and countryside appear untouched by the century that has passed since the Hogya family lived, worked and raised families there.

In August, 2003, I returned to my Hungarian homeland with hopes to find the house where my forefathers lived, the church where they worshipped and the hallowed ground in which they are buried.

But the greatest treasure I hoped to retrieve was to learn first-hand something new about those that I never really knew at all. To come face-to-face with those who came before me. To walk where they walked, to see what they saw, to breathe the air that they breathed.

Are you ready? Let's go!

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