[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6301]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   CONGRATULATING THOMAS J. HROMISIN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. PAUL E. KANJORSKI

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 3, 2009

  Mr. KANJORSKI. Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask you and my esteemed 
colleagues in the House of Representatives to pay tribute to Mr. Thomas 
J. Hromisin, the 2009 recipient of the Man of the Year Award from the 
Greater Pittston Friendly Sons of St. Patrick.
  Mr. Hromisin is a son of Jerry and Mary Ellen Hoban Hromisin, having 
been born April 30, 1983.
  He attended St. John the Baptist Elementary School and Seton Catholic 
High School where he graduated in 2001 as vice president of the senior 
class. He has been a lifelong member of St. John the Evangelist Parish 
in Pittston, where he has served as an acolyte and Eucharistic 
Minister.
  Mr. Hromisin attended the University of Scranton on a four-year ROTC 
scholarship, majoring in criminal justice. As a Cadet, he attended 
Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia. He also attended Cadet Troop 
Leadership Training with a psychological operations unit at Fort Bragg, 
North Carolina. He was also a competitor on the Ranger Challenger Team.
  Upon graduation, Mr. Hromisin received the distinguished graduate 
award in the fields of criminal justice and military science and he was 
commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Army on May 28, 
2005.
  After completion of the Infantry Officer's Basic Course and attending 
Ranger School, he was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington in April 
2006. He was promoted to first lieutenant in January 2007, and served 
as a mobile gun system platoon leader in the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd 
Infantry Division.
  During his unit's deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, 
he led his unit on 20 combat patrols and was critically wounded by a 
sniper on May 29, 2007, resulting in blindness and a traumatic brain 
injury. His recovery has included a month at the National Naval Medical 
Center in Bethesda, Maryland; seven months at the Drucker Brain Injury 
Center at Moss Rehab, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and six months at the 
Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Rehabilitation for the Blind in West 
Haven, Connecticut.
  In September 2007, Mr. Hromisin was promoted to captain. At that 
time, he was awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Army 
Commendation Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge. Mr. Hromisin 
resides at his home in Pittston, Pennsylvania, and continues to receive 
outpatient therapy.
  Madam Speaker, please join me in commending Mr. Hromisin for the 
extraordinary and courageous service he has given to his country and 
for the profound sacrifices he has made in the defense of freedom and 
the protection of his fellow Americans.

                          ____________________