My great-grandfather, Frank Gustav Wiblitzhauser, was the younger brother of Edmund Ladislaus Wiblitzhauser (later Vasvary). Frank was born on the 16th of June, 1890 to Gustav and Ethel (Ottilia Veronica Varady) Wiblitzhauser in Szeged. Edmund was slightly over 1¹/2 years old when Frank was born (Edmund's birthdate was the 18th of October, 1888). There was an older sister born to the family, Elizabeth, but she passed away from diphtheria at the early age of almost 5 just before Frank was born. A younger sister, Margaret Elizabeth, was born later on the 2nd of June, 1892.

It appears as if the Wiblitzhauser family was comfortably situated. The father, Gustav, graduated from the 'realschule' in Szeged after having attending it for 8 years. The school building that he attended later became the seat of the district's Superior Court and ultimately one of the main buildings of Szeged University. At the time of his marriage to Ethel in May 1885, he was a clerk in the office of the Szeged Bar Association. The President of the Bar Association, Dr George Lazar, actually was honored to give away the bride at the marriage of Gustav and Ethel (Ethel's father had passed away at an early age). Dr Lazar later became the mayor of Szeged.

Frank and Edmund's parents were first-cousins. Ethel's parents were Anton Varady and Elizabeth Farkas. Gustav's parents were Janos Wiblitzhauser and Veronica Varady, sister of Anton Varady. The Varady's were long-time residents of Szeged. Ethel was born there in December 1862. Gustav Wiblitzhauser was born in Petervarad in April 1860. It is unknown why Janos and Veronica (Varady) Wiblitzhauser had moved to Petervarad as Janos' father, also called Janos Wiblitzhauser, resided in Mako. The elder Janos had moved to Mako from Bavaria and established a brewery there. He was quite successful and quickly became a leading figure of the city in the 1820s. Following the death of his wife and a still-born child in 1828, he built a small chapel in the cemetery of the Roman-Catholic church to entomb their remains. [Following the death of Ethel (Varady) Wiblitzhauser in 1950, she also was entombed in that chapel.]

The family lived in a modest house located on King Mathias Square in Szeged-Alsovaros. All of the children were born in that house. This house had been built for the Varady family in the mid-1880s following the destruction of the original family home in the disastrous flooding of the Tisza River in 1879 and the subsequent demolition of their replacement dwelling which had been built on the same location (the location of the house interfered with the layout of the city's new, modern street plans.) The square, which was undoubtedly a wonderful playground for the children in their early years, was dominated by the Matthias Church, the oldest building in the city (built sometime during the 14th century). The proximity of the Church, with which the Varady family had long been associated, undoubtedly had a significant influence on Edmund given his later life-calling. Ethel's maternal grandfather had served as the organist-cantor of the church and for many, many years all members of the Varady family had been baptized and married there. Edmund conducted his first mass in this church.

Tragically, Gustav Wiblitzhauser passed away of pneumonia at the age of 33 shortly after Margaret was born (May 1893). My grandfather indicates that he had no real recollection of his father as he was only 3 at the time of his father's death. Edmund being a few years older might have had vague memories of his father. Their mother, Ethel, did not remarry and she and her mother Elizabeth, who had been living with them, were forced to sell the family house and seek other accommodations. With the passing of their father, their grandmother began to have a more significant impact on the upbringing of the young children. My grandfather states that she 'was an old-fashioned, religious, very strict woman, widowed early' and that she 'was a very strict disciplinarian'. He goes on to state, however, that she also 'was a level-headed, well-read person who liked books, told them stories and taught them to pray.' Her influence was not to be long-lived as she also passed away in 1902, an event that was a 'cruel blow' to the family.

The children seldom saw their paternal grandmother. She lived in the 'downtown' area of Szeged but the boys would sometimes stop by to say hello on their way home from school. Veronica Wiblitzhauser eventually moved to Budapest where she passed away in 1912/13.

The two boys were able to continue their scholarly pursuits and attended the local gymnasium. Edmund would ultimately graduate from the gymnasium in 1907. My grandfather did not complete his coursework at the gymnasium as he had decided to immigrate to the United States in 1906.

At the height of the wave of immigrants heading from eastern-Europe to the United States, my grandfather must have decided that his future lot would be best served by also joining the masses heading west. He was preceded by his uncle, Louis Varady, who had earlier immigrated to the United States and settled in Alliance (later Cleveland), Ohio working as a machinist for many years at the Morgan Engineering Company. When my grandfather did emigrate, it was to Alliance, Ohio that he first went. He stayed there for little more than a year before deciding to pursue a different vocation.

In November 1907, Frank Wiblitzhouser enlisted in the United States Army and became a musician for the band of the 7th Cavalry Regiment stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas. The 7th Cavalry was probably best known during that time-frame for its involvement in the Indian Wars in the western territories and the stunning defeat of General George Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in June 1876. He spent the next 3¹/2 years in Fort Riley, meeting and then marrying his wife Anna Dalton in November 1909 in Junction City, Kansas. The 7th Cavalry Regiment deployed to the Philippines for the second time in March 1911. Two months later, their first child, Edmond, was born there. Frank stayed in the Philippines until November 1913 when he returned to the United States and was reassigned to the Engineer Battalion band stationed at the Army Barracks in Washington, D.C. Frank's second son, Kenneth Frank (my grandfather), was born in July 1916. Frank remained with the U.S. Army until June 1917 when he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and joined the U.S. Marine Band, also stationed in Washington, D.C. While with the U.S. Marine Band, he was the principal saxophone soloist and performed at many notable events in the nation's capitol. In addition to having played for presidential inaugurations, funerals, receptions for visiting foreign dignitaries, Gridiron Dinners, and numerous White House dinners and dances, the band was a prominent participant at the interment of the body of the Unknown Soldier in November 1921 at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery and the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in May 1922.

Frank remained with the U.S. Marine Band until December 1938. During his tenure with the band, he had to suffer the untimely deaths of both of his sons. The oldest, Edmond, died as a result of a boating accident on the Potomac River in 1942. The youngest, Kenneth, died in October 1944 as a result of wounds he received in combat while serving with the 401st Glider Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division in the Operation Market-Garden campaign being conducted in Holland. He is buried at the Netherlands Military Cemetery in Margraten, Holland. Upon retirement from the U.S. Marine Band, Frank continued to play in a military band, now for the U.S. Soldiers Home in Washington, D.C. He took a final, long-deserved retirement in Dec 1955 and spent the remainder of his life in Washington, D.C. His wife, Anna, passed away shortly after Frank retired. He passed away in April 1971 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery next to Anna.

Although I also was born in Washington, D.C., I never really knew my great-grandfather. My father had enlisted with the U.S. Air Force and we spent many years moving around the U.S. and overseas (Germany, Turkey, Japan). We did return to the Washington, D.C. area as often as we could as my grandparents still resided there, but never seemed to be able to visit with Frank. My only recollection of him was a brief visit to his home in the late 1960s. He was very frail by that time, but his mind was as sharp as ever (you could tell by the sparkle in his eyes). Because there were 5 of us children, we were ushered to another room to while away the time so as to not overly excite/tire him. Sadly, that brief encounter was to be the one and only meeting that I can recall with this gifted man.