A SALUTE TO HARRY J. BROZYNSK1
WHEREAS, On August 3, 2014, Harry J. Brozynski, an outstanding citizen and member of the "Greatest Generation", joins the burgeoning ranks of this region's nonagenarians; and
WHEREAS, In many ways, Harry Brozynski's story exemplifies so many Chicagoans of that generation. He started life as the sixth of nine children born to the union of the late Marcella and Adam Brozynski who emigrated from Poland in the early 1900s. A native of this city's South Side, Harry attended Bowen High School for three years but dropped out to enlist in the Navy shortly after the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor; and
WHEREAS, Harry Brozynski was on active duty for six years as a radar specialist and machine gunner on the destroyer USS Herndon, seeing action in the North Atlantic, North Africa, Sicily and Normandy. The Herndon was the first U.S. Navy vessel to arrive off Normandy and provided artillery support for the historic landing. Recently, he was honored by the French government for his service during the invasion; and
WHEREAS, After Normandy, Brozynski's ship was assigned to the Pacific Fleet to provide carrier support, surviving several kamikaze attacks. At the end of hostilities, the Herndon was responsible for securing the surrender of several Japanese navy vessels in the China Sea. Brozynski also served aboard the battleship U.S.S. Missouri after the Herndon was decommissioned, although he arrived too late to see the Japanese surrender to General Douglas McArthur; and
WHEREAS, While on a three-day pass, Harry Brozynski was joined in Holy Matrimony to Lorraine Olson on February 23, 1946. After he was discharged, Harry stayed with the U.S. Navy in the Reserves for more than 25 years as well as becoming a member the Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion. He went to work for the Pullman Car Company and later was employed by Sears Roebuck, for whom he worked for more than 35 years before retiring; and
WHEREAS, Although he now lives i...
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