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This article is a little old (4/11/2004), but is quiet interesting.
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
The Los Angeles Times revealed last week an incredible connection between the Heinz family and the Armenian Genocide.
In a lengthy front-page article on October 27, the Los Angeles Times disclosed that Howard Heinz, the grandfather of Sen. John Heinz (the former husband of Teresa Heinz Kerry), went to Armenia in 1919 to deliver desperately needed humanitarian supplies to the thousands of survivors of the Armenian Genocide. Howard was one of the four children of Henry John Heinz, the founder of the famous ketchup and pickle empire.
Times’ staff writer Ralph Vartabedian, through painstaking archival research, traced for the first time the Heinz’ family tree, spanning over four generations. Here is the reference in his article to the amazing link between the Heinz family and the Armenian Genocide:
"Heinzes pioneered the industrialization of the U.S. food supply, pushed government reforms to improve food safety and advocated for military intervention to stop the Armenian genocide." Howard Heinz, who was deeply involved in public service, "was sent to the Middle East by the Wilson administration after World War I to head famine-relief efforts. On the day [his father] H. J. Heinz died [in 1919], Howard was delivering 30,000 tons of food to the region, where he witnessed the unfolding genocide that took the lives of 1.5 million Armenians. Howard tried to get [Pres. Woodrow] Wilson to send troops to halt the slaughter in harsh, remote areas of eastern Turkey and Armenia. In a dispatch to the president, he wrote, ‘I do not believe America, when she knows the truth, will be satisfied to have all our ideals of humanity thrown to one side while these people are murdered.’ His pleas were ignored," Vartabedian wrote.
This is a very significant revelation that was not known to most Armenians, and possibly even to the descendants of the Heinz family. It would be important to obtain copies of the first-hand reports Howard Heinz dispatched from Armenia and Turkey, as the genocide was still unfolding.
Interestingly, should Sen. Kerry become president, an incredible family connection would be established for the first time between the White House and the Armenian Genocide. Kerry’s three stepsons -- Teresa’s sons from her former husband – H.J. Heinz IV born in 1966, Andre born in 1969, and Christopher born in 1973 -- are the great-grandsons of an eyewitness to the Armenian Genocide!
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Heinz Family’s Incredible Link To the Armenian Genocide
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
The Los Angeles Times revealed last week an incredible connection between the Heinz family and the Armenian Genocide.
In a lengthy front-page article on October 27, the Los Angeles Times disclosed that Howard Heinz, the grandfather of Sen. John Heinz (the former husband of Teresa Heinz Kerry), went to Armenia in 1919 to deliver desperately needed humanitarian supplies to the thousands of survivors of the Armenian Genocide. Howard was one of the four children of Henry John Heinz, the founder of the famous ketchup and pickle empire.
Times’ staff writer Ralph Vartabedian, through painstaking archival research, traced for the first time the Heinz’ family tree, spanning over four generations. Here is the reference in his article to the amazing link between the Heinz family and the Armenian Genocide:
"Heinzes pioneered the industrialization of the U.S. food supply, pushed government reforms to improve food safety and advocated for military intervention to stop the Armenian genocide." Howard Heinz, who was deeply involved in public service, "was sent to the Middle East by the Wilson administration after World War I to head famine-relief efforts. On the day [his father] H. J. Heinz died [in 1919], Howard was delivering 30,000 tons of food to the region, where he witnessed the unfolding genocide that took the lives of 1.5 million Armenians. Howard tried to get [Pres. Woodrow] Wilson to send troops to halt the slaughter in harsh, remote areas of eastern Turkey and Armenia. In a dispatch to the president, he wrote, ‘I do not believe America, when she knows the truth, will be satisfied to have all our ideals of humanity thrown to one side while these people are murdered.’ His pleas were ignored," Vartabedian wrote.
This is a very significant revelation that was not known to most Armenians, and possibly even to the descendants of the Heinz family. It would be important to obtain copies of the first-hand reports Howard Heinz dispatched from Armenia and Turkey, as the genocide was still unfolding.
Interestingly, should Sen. Kerry become president, an incredible family connection would be established for the first time between the White House and the Armenian Genocide. Kerry’s three stepsons -- Teresa’s sons from her former husband – H.J. Heinz IV born in 1966, Andre born in 1969, and Christopher born in 1973 -- are the great-grandsons of an eyewitness to the Armenian Genocide!
Link