[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 70 (Thursday, June 8, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E915]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


         IN HONOR OF SAINT CLAIR SHORES VETERAN THOMAS KUZENKO

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DAVID E. BONIOR

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 7, 2000

  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, on Sunday, May 28th, I stood on the shores 
of the beautiful Lake St. Clair for the rededication of a park to honor 
our nations veterans. I want to take a moment to honor one veteran in 
particular. I want to recognize the man who was instrumental in our 
being there that day. Had it not been for the vision, diligence, and 
devotion of Thomas Kuzenko the dedication of Veterans' Memorial Park 
may never have come to fruition.
  Fifty-seven years ago, young Tom was called upon to serve his country 
in World War Two. He left his pregnant wife Virginia with a kiss, 
boarded a bus and was shipped off to sea with the United States Navy. 
He would later return home to his family and settle in St. Clair 
Shores, a pleasant residential community in the southeast corner of my 
district. This service in the military was just the beginning of a life 
of service for Tom Kuzenko.
  If Tom had not recently passed, he would have been standing guard at 
the Veterans' Memorial in the park that day alongside his good friend 
Tom Fitzpatrick as the two had for many years. Described by friends as 
a quiet hero, Tom Kuzenko fought alongside the founders of the labor 
movement here in Michigan, helping to create a higher standard of 
living for workers as an organizer for the Hotel and Restaurant Workers 
Union. With that struggle behind him, he turned his attention to 
serving his fellow war veterans through the VFW Bruce Post. Tom was 
active in the post's community services and often traveled across the 
river to Canada to work with his dear friends in the Canadian Legion.
  Each year he would gather with other volunteers from the VFW to keep 
what was then Memorial Park in good shape. If a bench needed painting, 
he would go to the city for the paint and take care of it himself. That 
was the kind of man he was. He later took on the cause of renaming what 
was known as Memorial Park to Veteran's Memorial Park. Tom was the 
driving force behind this project, and everyone in the city knew that.
  Today visitors will know of Tom's legacy each time they see the 
beautiful symbol of life planted in his honor. While Tom may no longer 
be with us, his wife Virginia, his children Larry and Joyce, and his 
five grandchildren Ryan, Tyler, Bobby, Jennifer and Heather will all be 
able to sit under the tree dedicated to him, in a park he so proudly 
wished to have named in honor of his fellow veterans. My thanks go out 
to the members of the VFW Bruce Post for keeping Tom Kuzenko's dream 
alive, and to the City of St. Clair Shores, for finally bringing that 
dream to reality in a beautiful park on the water.

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