[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 136 (Thursday, October 11, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1850-E1851]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING RICHARD F. CERESKO

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. THOMAS G. TANCREDO

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 11, 2001

  Mr. TANCREDO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a man who has served his 
country, his state, and his fellow veterans for over thirty years. 
Richard F. ``Dick'' Ceresko is retiring on Friday, October 12th, after 
fourteen years as the Director of the State of Colorado's Division of 
Veterans' Affairs. In that time, he has played an integral role in 
expanding and improving both state and federal services for veterans. 
Although he will be leaving his official post, his legacy will live on 
in the new partnerships he crafted with private groups and federal 
agencies, new facilities to care for our veterans, and new national 
cemeteries to honor them eternally.
  You might say that Dick Ceresko was born to serve his country. His 
father fought in World War II, and his grandfather served in the Navy 
at the turn of the 20th Century. In October of 1965, Mr. Ceresko 
entered the U.S. Marine Corps where he earned his Naval wings and was 
commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. He was ordered to Vietnam in July, 
1967, and flew more than 360 missions as co-pilot, first pilot, and 
flight leader in a helicopter gunship during combat operations. He 
served throughout the northern ``I-Corps,'' including Khe Sanh, Hue, 
Dong Ha and Con Thien, before

[[Page E1851]]

he returned stateside in 1968. In other words, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Ceresko 
flew more than one mission per day while in Vietnam. For his service, 
he was honored with numerous awards and decorations including 19 Air 
Medals, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with Four 
Stars, the Presidential Unit Citation and the National Defense Service 
Medal. He was honorably discharged in 1970 in the rank of Captain.
  Mr. Ceresko joined the State of Colorado Division of Veterans' 
Affairs in 1980, and became the director of the Division in 1987. In 
this capacity, he served no fewer than 410,000 veterans every year. I 
became acquainted with Mr. Ceresko as the State of Colorado began 
planning a new, 180-bed extended care facility for veterans to be 
located at the former Fitzsimons Army Medical Center. This is an 
incredibly important project, since Fitzsimons promises to become one 
of the world's preeminent medical campuses in the years to come. He was 
the first veteran to make me aware that then-President Clinton's Budget 
proposals were not sufficient to pay the federal share of constructing 
this new veterans' nursing home. I asked him to crunch the numbers, and 
we determined that in order to save the facility, I needed to fight for 
extra funding on the floor of the House of Representatives in the form 
of an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2000 VA-HUD Appropriations bill. The 
amendment was successful, two years in a row, diverting more than $37 
million towards state veterans' nursing homes nationwide. Since that 
time, I've considered Mr. Ceresko one of my best resources as I weigh 
the many proposals that affect veterans in Congress.
  I know that Dick Ceresko will be missed by his peers and his fellow 
veterans, but I'm sure his retirement will be welcomed by his wife, 
Martha, and their four children. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the veterans 
of my district, I want to thank Dick for his service and wish him much 
happiness, fishing and fulfillment in his retirement.

                          ____________________