[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 45 (Thursday, April 21, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 21, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                       TRIBUTE TO THOMAS J. STACK

                                 ______


                            HON. LANE EVANS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 21, 1994

  Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, as a former marine and co-chair of the 
Vietnam-era Veterans in Congress [VVIC], I would like to call our 
colleagues attention to a story that appeared in Wednesday's Chicago 
Sun-Times about Thomas J. Stack.
  Mr. Stack recently died after a 17-year long fight against cancer. We 
should all be proud of this individual. After distinguishing himself in 
Vietnam by his bravery and devotion to his fellow soldiers, he returned 
to the States and helped other Vietnam veterans readjust to civilian 
life.

                [From Chicago Sun-Times, April 20, 1994]

          Thomas J. Stack Restored Pride for Vietnam Veterans

                            (By Steve Neal)

       He was among the more decorated soldiers of the Vietnam 
     War.
       But Thomas J. Stack seldom talked about this combat record.
       On his return from Vietnam, Stack had a reunion in is 
     basement with some of his pals from the Southwest Side. He 
     wanted to know how they were doing. Stack never talked about 
     himself much. But he helped a generation recover its lost 
     pride.
       Stack, 50, who died on Saturday after a 17-year bout with 
     cancer, was a sergeant in the 9th Infantry Division in 
     Vietnam who earned two Silver Stars, three Bronze Stars for 
     valor and the Air Medal for taking part in more than 25 
     aerial missions over hostile territory.
       ``He was a hell of a man,'' said retired Gen. William C. 
     Westmoreland, who commanded U.S. forces in Vietnam from 1964 
     to 1968. ``Tom showed great bravery and valor on the 
     battlefield. He put his life on the line to protect his 
     men,'' Westmoreland said Tuesday. He recalled that Stack was 
     among the more selfless men that he had known.
       In Stack's final hours, his spirits brightened when he 
     received a phone call from Westmoreland at St. Francis 
     Hospital in Blue Island. Stack smiled when he got the call 
     from his wartime commander. ``I just told him how much he 
     meant to all of us and that we were pulling for him,'' said 
     Westmoreland, 80, who frequently corresponded with Stack. 
     ``He's going to be missed.''
       When he was under fire in Vietnam, Stack responded with 
     toughness and courage. In the face of enemy fire, he dove 
     into a stream, saved an American soldier from drowning and 
     also captured a Viet Cong officer. While serving as a platoon 
     leader, Sgt. Stack was under fire with his men behind a rice-
     paddy dike. Stack led a charge that wiped out five 
     bunkers, rescued wounded American soldiers, and took heavy 
     Vietnamese casualties. On another occasion when his 
     platoon was under heavy fire, Stack led an assault that 
     knocked out enemy snipers. Stack was a soldier's soldier.
       On coming home from the Vietnam War. Stack and other 
     veterans were greeted by protesters who called them names. It 
     bothered him that Vietnam veterans weren't treated fairly. 
     Stack was in Washington, DC in 1982 for the dedication of the 
     Vietnam Veterans Memorial. He was deeply moved by the Wall 
     and visited it often.
       As part of the healing process from the Vietnam era, Stack 
     organized the 1986 Vietnam Veterans Welcome Home Parade that 
     brought more than 250,000 Vietnam veterans to Chicago. It was 
     an extraordinary event. Westmoreland said Tuesday that Stack 
     played an important role in the process of national 
     reconciliation. ``That cracked the ice. Vietnam was an 
     unpopular war, and that rubbed off on the veterans,'' said 
     Westermoreland. ``But the Chicago parade cracked the ice on 
     the country's attitude toward the Vietnam veteran and the 
     veteran's attitude about himself. Other cities began honoring 
     their veterans. Tom Stack started it all.''
       Stack received thousands of letters from parents and 
     children of soldiers who had died in Vietnam, from veterans 
     and from families of surviving veterans that thanked him for 
     honoring the courage and sacrifices of American soldiers.
       He was among the more heroic figures in his generation.

                          ____________________