The Constitution event held at Robert Morris Univeristy on September 17 went very well! Carl Walpusk, one of the 512 U.S. airmen rescued by General Draza Mihailovich and his Chetniks during WWII spoke to a standing-room only full house at the beautiful Rogal Chapel atop the highest hill on Robert Morris property. Old friends greeted each other and new friendships were made prior to the main event, with RMU professor, Dr. Susan Parker originating the idea. Quickly, all of the team at the School of Education and Social Sciences were on board and also welcomed guests warmly. Outside the Chapel, student musicians played patriotic music, one of them being Over There, Over There! to which I heartily sang along. Also, several R.O.T.C. students were present as an honor guard, carrying the American and Pennsylvanian flags and making Lt. Col. Carl Walpusk, Retired, resplendent in his blue uniform, as proud as a peacock! When he spoke, Carl addressed mainly the 50 Quaker Valley Advanced Placement European History classes led by Gene Klein and the Robert Morris history students, reminding them how important history is to our country. This was a great opportunity for Robert Morris University to share resources with the Moon Township community. RMU teamed up with the Serb National Federation as co-sponsors of the event, which provided light refreshments and Misi Belich, representing all of the SNF, raffled off six THE FORGOTTEN 500 books written by Gregory Freeman, to lucky winners. Happily, many of the young students present were the recipients of the book prizes! People came from Moon, Sewickley, the Greater Pittsburgh Area, little Washington, PA and Canonsburg, and the Greater Beaver Valley. All in attendance were grateful for the opportunity presented. Carl began by recalling his entry into the armed forces, and then, his crews subsequent missions to the Ploesti oil fields in Romania, and the time they were hit, his bailout over Yugoslavia, how he was found by the Serbian Chetniks and how they hid, fed and guarded them for the next 33 days before their rescue. They had very little, but what they did have, they shared with us. I dont know how the Serbian people did it. And I dont know if the shoes were on the other feet, if we would do the same. Maybe some, but not all of us. They ALL did. They all did their very best for us. Great questions were posed by the many students in the audience and Carl and historian John McCarthy answered them all, McCarthy telling the importance of how General Draza Mihailovich and his Chetniks tied up so many divisions that were supposed to invade Russia, and were late in doing so. Once the winter set in, the German armaments got stuck in the snow and were ineffective. Another question was if Carl or his family ever traveled back or helped the Serbian people. He said that he was just starting his family and was able to travel there or help other than send clothing during WWII. His contribution, he said, had to be his speaking up about the wonderful people who saved him. Were grateful that RMU had Raymond Zapporoni videotaping the whole affair for posterity. Ray will also be at Carls house on Monday morning, videotaping an interview with RMU history professor, John McCarthy for an Oral History project. It was quite exciting to see Carls family in such large attendance, with his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren present to see their grandfather honored by the University on this day. At the end, Daniel Rota of RMU, with whom Carl served in the National Guard, presented Carl with a beautiful plaque in remembrance of this grand day.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 21:37:08 +0000
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