September 16, 1962 marked I Am an American Day at the Seattle World’s Fair. After the speeches and the naturalization of some 100 new citizens, Seattle swimmer Zsuszu (“Susanna," “Suzie,” “Susie”) Ordogh received an “Americanism medal” from the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Ordogh, at age 16, was one of 40 Hungarian athletes who had defected during the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia, after Soviet forces invaded their homeland.

Here, Mrs. Ernest W. Haver (right), president of the Seattle DAR Regents Council pins the medal on Ordogh’s dress. American Legion Commander Dan Danilov (left), was chairperson of I Am an American Day. In 1962, Ordogh graduated from Seattle University with a degree in chemical Engineering. Three years later she married William D. "Dan" Zimsen, a Tacoma man. Their daughter, Rosie (Zimsen) Sheppard, was state champion swimmer in high school, and in 2006, was inducted into the Washington Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Caption information source: The Seattle Times: December 22, 1956, p. 2; December 26, 1956, p. 33; September 17, 1962, p. 2.
Caption information source: "In a Class of Their Own," Kitsap Sun, October 3, 2009, p. B17.
Caption information also derived from captions written by Post-Intelligencer staff and attached to the back of the photograph.