[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 53 (Thursday, April 15, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S2373]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO THOMAS EDWARD PINELLI

 Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I wish to pay tribute to the 
military service of Thomas Edward Pinelli, a veteran of World War II 
who is being honored in Washington, DC, this week.
  Mr. Pinelli served as a forward observer and technical sergeant in 
the Third Infantry Division, which fought the Germans through the 
Vosges Mountains in France, through the Colmar Pocket, and finally 
until VE day in Germany. As part of this division, he helped liberate 
the Dachau concentration camp and free thousands of civilians who were 
under Hitler's rule. His division received a unit citation from 
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Sergeant Pinelli was awarded 
medals for sharp shooting and good conduct.
  After World War II, Thomas returned to his hometown of Bronx, NY, 
where he began a career with the U.S. Postal Service. After 30 years, 
he retired in Westchester County, where he now resides.
  As grateful as Thomas Pinelli is for the opportunity to serve his 
country, he is even more grateful for the opportunity to have lived a 
full life in service to his community as a committed citizen, husband, 
and father. Mr. Pinelli's two sons are also giving back to their 
communities as they emulate their father's commitment to service: his 
elder son Thomas Jr. is a health care provider, and his younger son 
John teaches high school in New York City.
  On April 14 and 15, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum honored Thomas 
Pinelli and many others for their role in liberating the Dachau 
Concentration Camp in April 1945. Thomas traveled to Washington for 
this ceremony, thrilled at the chance to visit the Nation's Capital, to 
see old friends, and to relive this momentous time in American history. 
I wish to congratulate him on this honor and thank him for his service 
to our Nation.

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