[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 155 (Saturday, September 27, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2073-E2074]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING ARCHIE MANINA ON HIS RETIREMENT AS DIRECTOR OF THE OGEMAW 
             COUNTY VETERANS AFFAIRS OFFICE AFTER 26 YEARS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 26, 2008

  Mr. STUPAK. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Archie Manina of Rose 
City, MI. Mr. Manina has served as director of the Ogemaw County 
Veterans Affairs Office for 26 years will be retiring effective 
November 30. In recognition of his quarter-century of service, I ask 
that you, Madam Speaker, and the entire U.S. House of Representatives 
join me in honoring Archie Manina on this momentous occasion.
  Mr. Manina was born in Rose City, Michigan and spent the early years 
of his life living on a rural farm in Gratiot County, MI. For a time,

[[Page E2074]]

he attended a one-room country school and then a parochial school in 
Alma, MI. In the summer of 1956, his family moved to the small farming 
community of Ithaca, MI. Mr. Manina went on to graduate from Ithaca 
High School in 1965 and attend Central Michigan University to study 
secondary teaching. He worked as a harness horse groom and horse 
trainer during his summers while in college, a hobby that has stuck 
with Mr. Manina throughout his life. In June 1969 he graduated with a 
degree in secondary education and was simultaneously commissioned a 
second lieutenant in the U.S. Army.
  In July 1969 Lieutenant Manina went on active duty and after 
completing the Infantry Officer Basic Course and Airborne School he was 
assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, NC. He was 
reassigned to Vietnam and served there until May 1971 as a platoon 
leader and intelligence officer. For his service, Lieutenant Manina was 
awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Combat Infantryman's Badge, and Basic 
Parachutist's Badge.
  Upon release from the Army, Mr. Manina trained harness horses for a 
year prior to entering graduate school at Central Michigan University 
in August 1972. He graduated with a special education certificate in 
June 1973 and soon after received a master's degree in special 
education. On August 4, 1973, he married Susan Hashbarger and they soon 
moved to La Grange, IN, where Mr. Manina taught at Lakeland High 
School. Archie and Sue were blessed with two sons.
  In 1975, Archie and Sue Manina moved back to Michigan, where Archie 
worked in Roscommon, MI, as teacher for severely mentally impaired 
students. In June 1979, he left the education field and became the 
assistant to the administrator of Ogemaw Valley Medical Facility in 
Rose City until January 1984. In June 1983, Archie Manina became the 
director of Veterans Affairs in Ogemaw County, a position he still 
holds today.
  As a U.S. Army veteran himself, Archie Manina has been a tireless 
advocate for Ogemaw County's veterans these past 26 years and has 
distinguished himself as a true leader in the community. Mr. Manina has 
worked for more than a quarter century to help honor the commitment our 
Nation has made to our veterans. For this, I know he has the gratitude 
of Ogemaw County's veterans and the entire Ogemaw County community.
  Madam Speaker, Archie Manina is a humble man who has worked hard to 
recognize his fellow veterans for their achievements, while never 
seeking recognition for his own. I ask that you and the entire U.S. 
House of Representatives join me in thanking and saluting Mr. Archie 
Manina for his 26 years of service with the Ogemaw County Veterans 
Affairs Office and wishing him well on his retirement.

                          ____________________