“THIS IS VERY EXCITING, we have never had anyone so important here since I started,” said the press attaché to the Hungarian embassy, as Paul Wolfowitz arrived at the unveiling a statue on the embassy’s lawn. The statue, according to the invitation, is of “Colonel Commandant Michael Kovats de Fabricy, a Hungarian-born hero of the American Revolutionary War.” He is depicted in the throes of death at the Battle of Charleston. His horse’s eyes bulge out and one of his arms is flung backwards in agony. In his other hand, he holds aloft the flag of the American revolutionary force, a circle of stars cut out of the bronze.

The memorial to Kovats neatly captured the themes of the day. Hungarians have been dying in American wars for as long as there have been American wars to die in, and in order to advance the cause of liberty, they are more than willing to continue to do so.