[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 57 (Tuesday, May 6, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S3994]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DISTINGUISHED CITIZEN OF THE YEAR, DR. ERNEST TOMASI
Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, earlier this year, the Sunday Rutland
Herald and Sunday Times Argus had an article about a fellow Montpelier
neighbor, Dr. Ernest Tomasi. Dr. Tomasi was named the distinguished
citizen of the year by the Montpelier Rotary Club.
Madam President, I have known Dr. Tomasi my whole life. And my
parents knew him even before I did. He is a remarkable man, and
probably one of the last examples of a country doctor, even though he
has always practiced in our capital city.
Dr. Tomasi, a man very proud of his Italian heritage, as was my late
mother, was one who would make sure that everybody who needed a
physician received that physician's care.
So many times people would come to him telling him that they could
not afford a doctor's care but needed a doctor's care. They always got
it. It would be remarkable if somebody were able to tally up all the
people of central Vermont who were cared for by him but never received
a bill because they could not pay for it.
I also think of the number of times as a youngster seeing him going
out making house calls, and then even in later years, even after I
became a U.S. Senator, seeing Dr. Tomasi with his battered bag heading
off for house calls.
It was my privilege to see him in 1994, when he went back for the
50th anniversary of D-Day. He had landed on Normandy as a young medic
and, as he said, was one of the only ones who went ashore without guns.
He also tells some pretty horrific stories of what happened to the
people who were landing. It was a mark of his bravery that even though
he earned the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and a
Presidential Citation, this was never a part of his conversation, and
only reluctantly did he go back for the 50th anniversary.
My wife and I had a chance to talk with him on different occasions
while he was there. He was one of the brave, brave people President
Clinton and General Shalikashvili and others referred to at that
celebration.
Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the article ``Longtime
Doctor Named Rotary's Citizen Of Year'' be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Longtime Doctor Named Rotary's Citizen of Year
(By Art Edelstein)
Dr. Ernest Tomasi's medical office on Barre Street could
well be the setting for a Norman Rockwell painting: The suite
of rooms does not sparkle in medicinal white, there are no
secretaries behind glass partitions, and the examining tables
are from a bygone era.
But Tomasi can be forgiven the lack of high technology. Now
semi-retired, he has practiced medicine locally for 50 years,
delivering at least 1,000 babies. Along the way, he raised
six of his own children, treated many patients without taking
a fee and contributed to innumerable volunteer efforts.
His career has not gone unnoticed. Earlier this month,
Tomasi received the Montpelier Rotary Club's Distinguished
Citizen of the Year award for his many years of service to
the community.
Tomasi, who turns 83 at the end of February, is a cheery
man who doesn't boast about his formidable medical career and
his years in the armed services.
``I think the fact that he has continued to practice
medicine and is an old-style doctor interested in his
patients first made him a great candidate,'' said Rotary
President Roderic Sherman. ``He is an outstanding example of
good deeds.''
``He has been providing services to anyone needing medical
help for 50 years,'' said David Pinkham, who chaired the
selection committee. ``Dr. Tomasi provides services for
barter, or free. He is an example of somebody doing something
for others.''
A Montpelier native, Tomasi graduated from St. Michael's
high school on Barre Street, and from the University of
Vermont medical school in 1942. After interning for a year in
Waterbury, Conn., where he met his wife, he joined the U.S.
Army.
Tomasi doesn't like to talk much about his role as a member
of the D-Day invasion force that landed on the Normandy coast
of France on June 6, 1944. He said his team of medics were
brave men. ``They were the only ones who went ashore without
guns,'' he said.
Tomasi earned the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart
and the Presidential Citation.
Tomasi travelled back to France to celebrate the 50th
anniversary of D-Day in 1994. The trip, paid for by his
colleagues at the Central Vermont Hospital, brought back
painful memories of his war years. ``It was so horrible. I
saw a lot of soldiers die,'' he said.
``I didn't want to go back to Omaha Beach; there were too
many bad memories.''
But there were some better memories of his tour of duty in
Europe that he can smile about. In 1944, after the Allies
began defeating the Germans, Tomasi and his unit liberated
the first town on the German border near the Elbe River.
There he delivered a baby girl. Years later he received a
letter from that child when she became an adult.
``He doesn't talk much, especially about his trip to Europe
in 1994,'' said his wife of 50 years, Barbara Tomasi. ``He
landed and all these boys around him were killed. Going back
to the beach and cemetery were emotional.''
While the war was an unpleasant experience, Tomasi did not
shirk his responsibilities to his fellow veterans. He has
been an active member of the American Legion and Veterans of
Foreign Wars and has served as the Post doctor for 30 years.
After the war, Tomasi returned to Montpelier to practice
medicine. He has witnessed many changes in the medical
profession in his half-century of practice.
``It's all changing too fast,'' he said. ``I wish I could
live long enough to see how it comes out.''
A surgeon, he no longer performs operations but continues
to assist in them.
Tomasi began scaling back on his practice in 1994. Before
then, his wife said, he kept a grueling schedule.
``He would work from 8 in the morning until 11 or midnight
with a supper break,'' she said. ``He did this until three
years ago when he cut back on patients. He still makes
occasional house calls.''
Adera White, a friend and former nurse, said Tomasi is a
special doctor.
``Through medicine, he's done much. He would treat people
and not get paid; for years he never sent bills to any of his
patients,'' she said. ``Whoever felt they could pay, paid
him. He wasn't in it for the money, that's for sure.''
While Tomasi said he is thinking about retiring from
medicine, his wife doubts he will quit his life's work.
``This is the only thing he has; he is devoted to his
patients,'' she said. ``He loves sports, but never had any
hobbies. * * * I don't think he will ever retire.''
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