by David Zenian
Austin - Nearly 40 years ago, Republican Representative Steven B. Derounian of New York distinguished himself at a Congressional hearing into the TV quiz game rigging.
In the course of the deliberations, Derounian's colleagues in Congress had spared no words to praise a key witness - Charles Van Doren, whose confessions of guilt had sent shock waves across America.
Taking the floor, Derounian - who now calls Austin home - said he was surprised how telling the truth under such circumstances could wash away the original crime.
Turning to Charles Van Doren, a Columbia University English instructor, superstar of the 1950's game show Twenty-One, and the son of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mark Van Doren, Derounian said:
"I disagree with the other members of the committee who have commended you for telling the truth. I don't think that any adult, especially one of your intelligence, should be applauded for telling the truth."
Derounian's remarks were brought back to life again in a Washington Post editorial nearly 10 years ago to blast those in Congress who were romanticizing Lt. Col. Oliver North for telling the "truth."
He was in the spotlight again last year - this time in the hit movie Quiz Show where an actor portrayed him in the film that examines American ethics and the power of television.
Derounian, now 78, had nothing to do with the making of movie. In fact, he didn't even know about it until one of his daughters called to tell him about it.
Who is Derounian? He is the first Armenian Congressman.
Born in Sofia, Bulgaria, April 6, 1918, Derounian came the United States in 1921 with his parents Boghos and Eliza Derounian - Armenians driven from one country to another by the Balkan Wars and the Genocide of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey.
He attended public school in Mineola, NY, took his Bachelor's degree from New York University, and his LL. B. from the Fordham Law School in 1941.
He served in the US Army and was admitted to the N.Y. Bar Association, but public service was his dream and main objective.
First he was elected as a Councilman to the North Hempstead, New York Town Board in 1947, then to Congress for 12 years until 1964, serving on the Ways and Means Committee, the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee and the TV Quiz Frauds Investigating Committee where his remarks set the tone of the proceedings.
While in Congress, he traveled extensively around the world visiting countries like the Soviet Union, Hungary, Romania and others.
Derounian later served thirteen years as a New York State Supreme Court judge before retiring from public office to live in Austin in 1981 with his American wife, Nan - a native of Gonzalez, and a sixth generation Texan.
Still active in various civic groups and often lecturing on subjects like the philosophy of government, Derounian credits his father for his strong belief in "right and wrong."
He remembers an incident as a young man when he was severely reprimanded by his father for overweighing a cheese shipment.
"I did apologize to my father, but that was not enough. For him an apology from a dishonest person was not worth a thing. For my father, a reputation for honesty was something which money could not buy, and that reputation could only be preserved by not making mistakes rather than making apologies," Derounian says.
"I will always remember my father's remark," he adds.
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Armenia: A New Era
