[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 87 (Friday, July 1, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 1, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                    TRIBUTE TO COL. ANTHONY LENTINI

  Mr. JOHNSTON. Mr. President, in speaking at college commencements 
this year, I have been urging graduates to consider a career in public 
service. Many young people no longer think of a government career as 
desirable, perhaps because in recent years government employees, both 
civilian and military, have been given very little praise and a lot of 
criticism. So I am pleased to have this opportunity to praise the 
accomplishments of a native Louisianian whose exemplary career in 
public service extends back nearly 50 years, to World War II, and who 
has just retired as director of the VA Regional Office in New Orleans, 
Col. Anthony J. Lentini.
  Tony Lentini is a native of Kenner, LA, and a graduate of Loyola 
University where, coincidentally, one of those commencement addresses 
took place. He is a combat veteran of World War II and Korea, and 
served during the Vietnam era in the office of the Secretary of the 
Army as a legislative liaison officer with the U.S. Congress. Members 
of Congress and their staffs who worked with him then and later, after 
he joined the staff of the Administrator of Veterans Affairs, found him 
unfailingly accessible, knowledgeable, and helpful. During the 20 years 
he has been director of the New Orleans regional office, he has been of 
immense help to my office and to the entire Louisiana delegation and we 
will all miss him sorely.
  In addition to serving his country, Tony has served his State and his 
city, as president of the New Orleans Federal Business Association as a 
long-time member of the board of trustees of United Way for the Greater 
New Orleans Area and as president of the Committee on Alcoholism and 
Drug Abuse for the Greater New Orleans Area. I am pleased to say that 
his efforts have not gone unnoticed. He received the 12th annual Rabbi 
Emil W. Leipziger Award as an outstanding United Way Volunteer, as well 
as numerous awards for Outstanding Service to Veterans from, among 
others, the Disabled American Veterans, the VFW, AMVETS, and the 
American Legion. The Republic of Italy has conferred on him the title 
of ``Cavaliere'' for his good work in promoting cultural awareness in 
the American-Italian community.
  For half a century, Tony Lentini has been fighting for Americans, 
first on the battlefield, and later, for the rights and benefits of all 
those who served in the military. As St. Paul says, he has fought a 
good fight and now he has finished the course. On behalf of all 
Louisianians, I want to wish Tony and his family every success and 
happiness in the years ahead, and thank him for everything he has done 
for his country and his fellow soldiers.

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