At Anniversary of Hungarian Revolution, Some Refugees See Communism Creeping Into US

Andy Dobo (second from right) in Hungary on a recent trip there. Dobo, now 85, worked for the Communist-run telephone company in Budapest during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution when he was 20 years old. He was among the workers who unplugged the phone lines to disrupt the communications of the Russians calling in at that time. Dobo is pictured with his son, Ken (far right), and two grandsons. Photo courtesy Andy Dobo

When the 65th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution against Russian communists was commemorated on Oct. 23, Andras Pongratz of Scottsdale, Arizona, was among those speaking to thousands in Budapest about the importance of that time and the reasons for their uprising.

You'd never know it by looking at the short and stocky, bespectacled silver-haired man, but he was among those to throw the first brick, per se, that would help crack the foundation of communism when he was 17 years old.