[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 127 (Monday, November 13, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1996]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO MR. JOHN SELESKY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, November 13, 2006

  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to one of my 
constituents who has distinguished himself through service to his 
country, his State and his community. Mr. John Selesky has been 
selected as ``Ogemaw County Veteran of the Year'' by the Ogemaw County 
Veterans Alliance. Mr. Selesky is truly deserving of this unique honor.
  Mr. Selesky enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps as an Aviation Cadet 
in 1942. He was trained in Oxnard, California, and Roswell Army 
Airfield. After flight training, Mr. Selesky was commissioned as a 2nd 
Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps.
  In 1943, Mr. Selesky left on a night flight at 11 p.m. After takeoff, 
Mr. Selesky's plane underwent engine failure causing him to undergo a 
forced landing at the end of the runway.
  Injured, Mr. Selesky walked back to the runway and then back to the 
flight line. The staff in the flight office called the base hospital, 
which dispatched an ambulance. Mr. Selesky awoke on an operating table 
where surgeons were sewing up cuts on his head and face. Sadly, Mr. 
Selesky lost his left eye in the accident.
  After being discharged from the Army in 1943, Mr. Selesky returned 
home to Grayling, Michigan. A member of the greatest generation, Mr. 
Selesky did not take much time to rest after his discharge. Instead, he 
almost immediately went back to work in the family store. He also 
started a family of his own. Ultimately, Mr. Selesky and his wife, 
Virginia, would have five children, John, Jr., Verna, Barbara, Jeffery 
and Mike.
  After purchasing a small farm, Mr. Selesky went back to serving his 
state and his country by joining the Conservation Department as a 
Forest Fire Tower Lookout out of the Mio District Office in Mio, 
Michigan. In 1957, Mr. Selesky was promoted to Conservation Foreman and 
supervised a prison inmate labor crew at the Southern Michigan State 
Forest Nursery near Brighton, Michigan.
  In 1963, the State of Michigan eliminated the Fire Tower Fire Watch 
system and began using aircraft for fire detection. With his military 
flying experience and additional flight time he had accrued thanks to 
the GI Bill of Rights, Mr. Selesky was promoted to District Pilot at 
the Mio District Office. Mr. Selesky piloted one of only four planes 
used by the State of Michigan. In 1980, Mr. Selesky retired after 29 
years of service as an employee in the State of Michigan having served 
as Conservation Foreman and as a pilot.
  Mr. Speaker, with our brave men and women deployed abroad, it is more 
important than ever that all of us observe Veteran's Day. By honoring 
past heroes, we salute those who serve today. With that in mind, I ask 
that all of my colleagues join me in saluting Mr. Selesky for his 
service and in congratulating him for being awarded Ogemaw County 
Veteran of the Year.

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