[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 64 (Thursday, May 1, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E831]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING THOMAS RONAYNE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. STEVE ISRAEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 30, 2003

  Mr. ISRAEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Thomas Ronayne, a 
decorated veteran and Commander of the Huntington Station Veterans of 
Foreign Wars.
  After entering the United States Navy in January of 1980, Tom served 
aboard the USS Vogelgesang and the USS Vreeland. In September of 1983, 
he was Honorably Discharged from the Navy. For his service, Tom was 
awarded the Navy Expeditionary Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary 
Medal, two Navy Battle ``E'' ribbons, Navy Sea Service Deployment 
Ribbon, the Navy Pistol Expert Ribbon, one Atlantic Fleet Command 
``Golden Grammy Awards'' for Gram Analysis Excellence and two ``Silver 
Grammy'' Awards for Gram Analysis Excellence.
  Tom became a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States 
in 1996, joined Post #1469 in Huntington Station in 1998 and held 
various offices before being elected Commander in 2000. He still serves 
as Commander of the Huntington Station VFW, Nathan Hale Post 1469, the 
oldest VFW Post on Long Island and largest in downstate New York.
  Tom also participated significantly in the operations and efforts at 
Ground Zero. He was injured as a result of the attacks on the World 
Trade Center and remained on scene for over seven months, participating 
in the recovery, clean-up and rebuilding efforts. Tom still visits 
regularly with the workers at Ground Zero.
  Tom has three sons and lives in Greenlawn, NY with his wife Linda. I 
commend Tom Ronayne for his dedicated service to our country during his 
time in the Navy and in the aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade 
Center, and for his hard work on behalf of veterans on Long Island.

                          ____________________