By Anirudh Sridhar
It was befitting that my first Life Story interview was with George Z. Padar. Mr. Padar is
an army veteran and serendipitously, the interview happened to take place on Memorial
Day. Mr. Padar was such a joy to interview. He had so much wisdom and was very funny too! Although I had prepared a long list of questions to ask during my interview, Mr. Padar was so forthcoming and full of stories that I set my questions aside and just tried to soak in all that he had to share. I learned several life lessons during this interview.
George Z. Padar was born in March 1941 in Hungary, not far from the border with Ukraine. His father, who came from a land-owning family, worked in farming for the Hungarian government. His job was to check on farms and make sure the tools and machines were working well. Mr. Padar’s mother’s family ran a store in Transylvania. After World War I, Transylvania became part of Romania, so his mother moved back to Hungary along with her family.
At the end of World War II, Hungary came under the control of the Soviet Union. Many
government workers were being arrested, so Mr. Padar’s family ran away to stay safe. They took several modes of transportation to reach Austria and then ended up in refugee camps in Bavaria, Germany.
Mr. Padar remembered one moment clearly from when he was five. He and other families were hiding in the attic of a Catholic school. American soldiers came and saw them. Later, they came back with food and water to help, even though the families had come from a country that had been on the other side in the war. This anecdote showed me that a kind deed, however small, is never forgotten.
Mr. Padar’s family lived for a few years in Schondorf, a town near a lake called Ammersee, about 40 miles from Munich. During that time, Mr. Padar made a close friend who stayed in his life for many years.
In July 1950, the family got the okay from the United Nations to move to the United States. A Catholic aid group helped them get there. Mr. Padar was amazed when they arrived in New York City and saw the tall buildings. The family moved to Beaver Meadow, New York, where his father worked on a dairy farm. They were given a house, milk, and food. It was hard work, and his father had to wake up at 4 a.m. every day. Still, he never complained. Mr. Padar remembered him saying, “My job is to make sure the two of you have a better life.” Mr. Padar reflected that people like his father who accepted their current situation were more content and happier than those who try to fight their destiny. He learned early lessons in discipline and hard work from his parents.
Later, the family moved to Ithaca, New York. They bought a small 9-acre farm. Mr. Padar went to a school with only two rooms for all seven grades. One teacher would bring wood to heat the room to make sure the kids were warm in the winter.
Mr. Padar graduated from Ithaca High School in 1959. He then got into Cornell, where he studied wildlife, learning how to care for animals in parks and wild areas. After finishing college in 1963, he joined the ROTC and then became a Second Lieutenant in the Army. He hoped to work in Army intelligence since he spoke both German and English, but he ended up working in tanks instead. In November 1963, he went to Fort Knox, Kentucky for training. He was later sent to Germany and, by chance, met up again with his old childhood friend. In 1965, he was given a discharge from overseas duty.
While living in Germany, he asked to become both a U.S. and German citizen. In Munich, he met his future wife. He turned down an arranged marriage his parents wanted for him and chose his own path. They had two weddings—one in court and one in church. He came back to the U.S. in May 1966, and his wife followed in June.
Both he and his wife worked at Cornell, and a kind friend gave them an apartment at a lower rent. His wife encouraged him to become a teacher. He went back to school and got his master’s degree. After applying for jobs in many states, he finally got hired to teach in Prince George’s County, Maryland, where he taught ninth and tenth grade science and one year of algebra. He stayed in teaching for 34 years and really enjoyed it. Mr. Padar taught many kids from military families, and he said they were smart and well-behaved. He believed they likely did well later in life.
Mr. Padar also served in the Army Reserve after moving to Bowie, Maryland. In 1990, he was sent to help with post-war reconstruction in Kuwait after the war with Iraq. He and others stayed in a warehouse owned by the Kuwaiti government. He found books written in Arabic but with numbers like the ones we use. He remembers how the Iraqis had damaged water and power supplies in Kuwait. He also remembered sleeping in a hotel lobby because news crews had taken all the rooms. In the morning, workers gave them tea and cookies as thanks. While there, he worked in a command center and helped with big decisions. One of the people in his group had a direct line to the White House.
Mr. Padar later came home to big parades in D.C. and New York in June 1991. Some college students even asked for his autograph. He said, “although I didn’t feel like I did anything great to deserve such appreciation, it sure made me feel proud.” Mr. Padar went on to train for a new job as director of operations. He loved that job too.
Today Mr. Padar lives at Brookdale Senior Living. He and his wife have two children and four grandkids. His daughter works at the Federal Reserve and lives in Rockville, Maryland. She has three kids, including one in college studying aerospace. The other two, 9 and 14, both love soccer. His son works for the FBI in Los Angeles and has a 14-year-old child. Mr. Padar’s older brother also went to Cornell on a full scholarship and became a neurosurgeon. He now lives in Florida. His brother’s daughter is a judge, and her daughter got a Ph.D. in biochemistry. He was married for 59 years before his wife passed away in early March this year. His brother’s wife also passed away from lung cancer, even though she never smoked.
Mr. Padar enjoys his time at Brookdale. He appreciates that all the staff are genuinely caring. He looks forward to visits from his children and grandchildren. He has had such an amazing and rich life. As a teenager, it is so hard for me to imagine that he has done and experienced so much in a lifetime. While I am still figuring out what my future goals should be, I am amazed at how many things Mr. Padar tried his hands on. The 90 minutes went by so quickly. I felt so honored to have met an army veteran on Memorial Day, of all days, and really appreciate all the contributions of our service men for our country. I left the senior living center feeling both proud and deeply inspired by Mr. Padar’s story.
Thanks to volunteer editor Shaun Wang who assisted with this story.