[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 107 (Tuesday, July 17, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1265]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IN HONOR OF SEYMOUR ``SY'' POLLOCK

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOE COURTNEY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 17, 2012

  Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Seymour 
Pollock, who was raised in Brooklyn, Connecticut in my Congressional 
District and turned 100 years old on July 8th. Known by his friends and 
family as ``Sy,'' he is a straightforward man with a complicated 
backstory. Losing his mother as a young boy, he and his two brothers 
spent much of their childhood separated. The financial burden of caring 
for three sons forced his father to place his kids in foster homes, 
where Sy suffered abuse. Continued domestic instability prompted Sy to 
leave home and stow away on a cruise ship when he was 16. When he was 
discovered hiding on board, the teenager told the Captain that his name 
was Seymour, to which the captain replied ``Well, now you are going to 
see less.'' Sy worked in the galley until they returned to port.
  During World War II, Sy served in the United States Army, where he 
cleaned and repaired semi-automatic weapons for the troops on the 
frontlines. His unit was responsible for setting up the coastal defense 
for what is now Battery Park in New York. After the war, Sy's father 
bought a building in the Bronx and opened up a business there selling 
and repairing cash registers. He and his brothers eventually ran that 
business together.
  Sy retired to Florida at 82. He is the father of two daughters and a 
grandfather of two ambitious young men. I ask my colleagues to join 
with me in recognizing the extraordinary life of this man who 
exemplifies the American dream.

                          ____________________