Tibor served as a First Lieutenant, Headquarters, Office of Strategic Services, U.S. Army during World War II. He resided in Passaic County, New Jersey prior to the war. Tibor was born in Fiume (present day Rijeka), Croatia. He immigrated to the United States. He was noted as a Hungarian who was a typical O.S.S. recruit, intelligent and multilingual. Tibor Keszthelyi lived in Budapest before arriving in New York on May 22, 1939. Settling in Manhattan, he worked as a correspondent for a Hungarian newspaper and attended college. While living in Paterson, New Jersey, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in November 1942. Fluent in Hungarian, English, German, Italian, and French, he was an ideal OSS recruit. After serving at oss· Headquarters in Cairo, on August 26, 1944, he landed in Slovakia with the TOLEDO mission whose goal was to set up an espionage network behind enemy lines in Hungary. However, after it became clear that this infiltration would not be cleared, Keszthelyi returned to Italy, where he served as acting head of the OSS Hungarian desk while preparing for his next assignment. On October 7, 1944, Keszthelyi arrived in Bansk6 Bystrica as leader of the four-member BOWERY team, tasked with building a network based in Budapest. Keszthelyi himself was to penetrate Hungary to funnel information from operatives to OSS radio operators in Slovakia. Although several agents were successfully infiltrated, the German advance forced Keszthelyi to return to Bansk6 Bystrica and join the DAWES team on their trek toward Soviet lines. His language skills were invaluable in obtaining food and shelter from the local population, but, on December 12, 1944, he and Sergeant Jerry Mican were captured by a German patrol after slipping into a village to buy horses. After being interrogated at Mauthausen, he was executed. He enlisted in the Army on November 11, 1942 in New York City, New York. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as an Office Clerk and also as Single, without dependents. His name on the Tablet's of the Missing shows "New York" in error and should show his state of residence prior to the war, "New Jersey". The Office of Strategic Services, of which he was a member, was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the main World War II intelligence agency, and a predecessor of today's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Information on this office's records and activities were not released until 2008. 1st Lt. Tibor K. Keszthelyi was a member of what was called the "Bowery Team". The Bowery Team was sent to the region on October 7, 1944 and the team was comprised of 1st Lt. Tibor K. Keszthelyi, Steve Catlos, and civilians using the code names Francis Moly and Stephen Cora. The "Bowery Team" joined the "Dawes Team" which had previously been sent to the region on September 17, 1944 and was comprised of Lt. James H. Green, Cpl Robert R. Brown, S/Sgt Joseph J. Horvath, M/Sgt Jerry G. Mican, SP(X)2 Charles S. Heller and Private John Schwartz. Both teams were sent into Czechoslovakia (Present Day Slovakia) to rescue downed American/Allied airmen. On October 17, 1944 Lt. James H. Gaul, Lane Miller, William McGregor, Kenneth Lain, J. Dunlevy and photographer Nelson Paris, also joined the "Dawes Team". Sometime in October, 1st Lt. Francis Perry was sent in under code name "Dare" to join the "Dawes Team" as well. He was to represent the German Austrian desk collecting information on Slovak headquarters and exploring the possibility of courier routes over the frontier. Two other civilians also were dropped at the same time. Emil Tomes, an American who lived in Slovakia, was sent in to work independently on counterintelligence, and Associated Press correspondent Joseph Morton. 1st Lt. Tibor K. Keszthelyi was captured by the German SS in Czechoslovakia (Present Day Slovakia) and was taken to the Mauthausen Concentration Camp in Austria. Tibor was tortured and then "Executed While A POW" by the German SS. His remains were cremated. He was awarded the "Distinguished Service Cross", Prisoner Of War Medal, Purple Heart, and the Czechoslovakia Miliatry War Cross. Service # O1704213 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Citation Synopsis submitted by Dwight "Andy" Anderson: Distinguished Service Cross The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to First Lieutenant Tibor K. Keszthelyi (ASN: 0-1704213), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving with the 2677th Regiment, Office of Strategic Services, in action against enemy forces from 7 October 1944 to 12 December 1944. With full knowledge of the extreme hazards involved, First Lieutenant Keszthelyi volunteered for an intelligence mission into the heart of enemy-occupied Czechoslovakia. As officer in charge of a sub-detachment of a liaison and intelligence team which operated for many weeks in close association with resistance forces, First Lieutenant Keszthelyi had as specific missions the establishment of contacts in the Czechoslovak underground and the infiltration into Hungary of two Civilian agents. Within a few days after his arrival in Slovakia, he successfully concluded arrangements with the underground for entrance of the two men into Hungary, and personally conducted them over the border. One of the two men dispatched later accomplished a vital intelligence mission in Budapest. During the ensuing weeks, First Lieutenant Keszthelyi carried on with great skill and intrepidity his duties as liaison agent with the Czechoslovakia underground, obtaining in the process such valuable information on troop movements by rail, detailed reports on industrial production, and significant information on the state of German morale. He rendered important aid in the rescue and evacuation of a large number of Allied fliers. When the food supply of the group became critical, First Lieutenant Keszthelyi was particularly active in the leadership of foraging parties whose activities were extremely hazardous by reason of the constant presence of enemy patrols. On 12 December 1944, while First Lieutenant Keszthelyi and an enlisted man were visiting a village in an attempt to obtain horses for transportation of seriously ill members of their group, they were captured by a German patrol, and subsequently executed. First Lieutenant Kesthelyi's activities until his capture contributed intelligence of distinct value to the war effort. His heroic and selfless performance of duty reflect the highest traditions of the Armed Service. General Orders: Headquarters, U.S. Army-Mediterranean Theater of Operations, General Orders No. 207 (1945) Action Date: October 7 - 12 December 1944 Service: Army Rank: First Lieutenant Regiment: 2677th Regiment Division: Office of Strategic Services ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OSS members executed at Mauthausen Concentration Camp: Baranski, Edward V ~ Capt, Army, Illinois, "Day Team" Brown, Robert R ~ Corp, Army, Illinois, "Dawes Team" Gaul, James H ~ Lt, Navy, New York, "Dawes Team" Green, James Holt ~ Lt, Navy, North Carolina, "Dawes Team" Heller, Charles S ~ SP(X)2, Navy, Illinois, "Dawes Team" Horvath, Joseph J ~ S/Sgt, Army, Ohio, "Dawes Team" Keszthelyi, Tibor K ~ 1st Lt, Army, New York, "Bowery Team" Mican, Jerry G ~ M/Sgt, Army, Illinois, "Dawes Team" Morton, Joseph ~ Civilian, War correspondent, AP, "Dawes Team" Paris, Nelson B ~ PhoM1C, Navy, Oregon, "Dawes Team" Pavletich, Daniel ~ Civilian, "Day Team" Perry, Francis ~ 1st Lt, Army, New York, "Dawes Team" British Military executed at Mauthausen Concentration Camp: Sehmer, John ~ Maj, Army, British ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Two others, with the last names of "Willis" & "Wilson" were also executed with the above group. It is unknown if they were American Military, British Military, or civilians. Steve J. Catlos, who was an U.S. Army Soldier and a member of the "Bowery Team" evaded capture and survived the war. Private John Schwartz, William McGregor, Kenneth Lain, and J. Dunlevy members of the "Dawes Team" all became POW's and survived the war. Anton Novak, a civilian with the "Day Team" escaped capture and survived the war.
Source: Find a Grave