Árpád Cseresnyés

Árpád Cseresnyés was born on 1 October 1920 in Budapest, his father was a military officer of peasant origin.

In 1942, after graduating from the Ludovika Academy, he was promoted to the rank of infantry lieutenant. From April 1944, he took part in the operations of the 25th Infantry Division in Galicia as a company commander of the 25th Infantry Regiment. On 30 April 1944, he returned to the reserve corps after being wounded by a mortar shell.

During the siege of Budapest, from 23 November 1944 he was an auxiliary officer of the improvised I/2nd Armoured Battalion, and later platoon commander until 1 January 1945. On the same day, however, he was wounded again on the Hármashatár Hill and was subsequently hospitalized, and after his recovery he went to his parents' apartment in the 11th district.

On 7 February 1945, he transferred to the 83rd Marine Brigade, and became a platoon commander in one of the Hungarian companies deployed there.

In 1948, he completed a one-month training course for the armed forces, in 1947 a course as a border guard detective officer, and between 1947 and 1948 he graduated from the Military Academy. He served in a border-hunting battalion until 1947, after which he was assigned to the central services of the Ministry of Defence, for a year to the I Corps in Budapest and to the 17th Rifle Division in Nyíregyháza (both as head of the operations department), and finally to the military officer training institutions, and from 1953 he became head of the combat medicine department of the Military Staff School. He received numerous commendations and decorations. His characterisations acknowledged his military knowledge, but regularly criticised his "reliance on the strength of the Party in combat" and his "sometimes such a colour [his attitude to the Party] that he feared the Party." and in 1950 it was even noted that, despite his aloofness, "his circle of friends is made up of a distinctly old group of officers".

In 1946 he joined the MKP, in 1947 he joined the Freedom Fighters' League, in 1948 he was downgraded to candidate member for lack of political activity, although he had just completed a one-month party school that year. In 1950, he regained his party membership.

In 1957, he was placed on reserve duty because he did not sign the officer's declaration. He was then employed as a technician at the X-Ray Repair Company, where he remained until his retirement, his last known position being as an electrical plant engineer. He was awarded the Distinguished Worker's Medal four times.

He was awarded the Budapest Medal of Merit and the Service Medal.

During the 1958 review, the competent committee of the Ministry of Defence classified him as an unreliable careerist, first recommending his demotion, and finally settling for his demotion to captain, but the Military Staff Committee of Budapest decided to take a more severe measure, because the officer's statement had been previously called a "Kádár statement", he had not joined the MSZMP and was a "Ludovico officer" anyway.In 1973, he requested the reinstatement of his rank, but this was refused on the grounds that he did not meet the requirements for reserve officers because of his 'military training and age'. At least an effort was made to ensure that this decision was not communicated in the most insulting way, and Mr Cseresnyés accepted that he would only be informed orally.