[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 14423]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 COMMEMORATING WILLIAM KOWALKOWSKI ON HIS RETIREMENT FROM THE NATIONAL 
             BOARD OF FEDERATION LIFE INSURANCE OF AMERICA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GERALD D. KLECZKA

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 25, 1999

  Mr. KLECZKA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor William Kowalkowski, 
an outstanding citizen and community leader who is retiring from the 
National Board of Federation Life Insurance of America.
  Mr. Kowalkowski is an example of the great American success story, 
embodying the values of hard work and perseverance. In 1925, when he 
was 5 years old, he left his native Milwaukee with his parents to live 
on a farm near the Baltic Sea in Poland. His parents had come from 
Poland to America in 1912 in search of freedom and better 
opportunities. After Poland regained its independence at the end of 
World War I, the Kowalkowskis yearned for their homeland. So they 
returned to Poland and bought a farm.
  When William Kowalkowski turned 17, the Polish government urged him 
to give up his U.S. citizenship and become a citizen of Poland. He 
refused, and instead decided to return to the United States where he 
longed for greater freedom and opportunities. His parents stayed in 
Poland despite his warnings of a possible war in Europe with the rise 
to power of Hitler in Germany.
  He left in 1937, just two years before the Nazi invasion of Poland. 
During World War II and for decades thereafter, he served as a member 
of the Polish Relief for Poland Committee, which shipped tons of 
clothing and food items to Poland and assisted many displaced Poles, 
including two of his brothers, in finding homes in the U.S. For his 
service he was awarded in 1995 the Order of Knight's Cross, Poland's 
highest civilian decoration for service to the Polish Republic. The 
decoration came from Poland President Lech Walesa.
  Since his return to Milwaukee, William Kowalkowski has been active in 
the Polish-American community, elected as president in 1979 of the 
Pulaski Council, which is the steering body of some 50 Polish American 
organizations. He served as president until 1991.
  Since 1941, Mr. Kowalkowski has been an active member of the 
Federation Life Insurance of America, a Milwaukee-based fraternal 
organization of Polish Americans. He has served for several terms as 
the organization's national director and national president, a post 
which he occupied until March of this year.
  Because he is a prominent and well-respected member of the community, 
Mr. Kowalkowski has met with national leaders, including Presidents 
Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to commemorate William Kowalkowski on the 
occasion of his retirement from the National Board of Federation Life 
Insurance of America and commend him on his enduring accomplishments 
and service to the community.

                          ____________________