People Profile: Volunteer Work Keeps Vietnam Veteran Busy During Retirement Years

Tom Wilczak may be retired, but that doesn’t mean he has stopped working. In fact, quite the opposite is true. His passion for service to our nation’s veterans keeps him quite busy these days.

Wilczak, who retired from Sears after 31 years in IT management, now spends a great deal of time volunteering with the Veterans Commission and the Romeoville American Legion Post 52.

He also retired from the U.S. Army after 21 years as an engineer officer. A Vietnam veteran, he is a three-year member of the local legion, which has been in existence for about six years.

Wilczak has lived in Romeoville for nine years. He and his wife, Della, have two children and five grandchildren.

Recently, Patch interviewed Wilczak to find out more about his volunteer efforts with both the veterans commission and the American Legion.

Patch: Please describe your service with the village’s veterans commission.

Tom Wilczak: I’ve been on the commission since its inception two and a half years ago. Our mission is to recognize and assist veterans and their families in any capacity needed. We will help these military families get pointed in the right direction to take advantage of all the assistance available at local, state and national levels. We’ve organized welcome home events and memorial services for our veterans. We are working with local businesses to publicly recognize and assist them, as well. We help coordinate the village’s Memorial and Veterans Day ceremonies. A special project this year is to provide two scholarships to local high school students.

Patch: What about the American Legion? Why did you decide to join the local post?

Wilczak: Members of Post 52 have a vision to provide assistance to jobless and homeless veterans. With my partner, Ed Maciejewski, I have been running a benefit to assist these veterans in need for over five years. I felt I could further my personal goals in that area by joining the post.

Patch: What can you tell Patch readers about the legion’s plans to build the Ray Holloway House, a “first-of-its-kind” American Legion Hall in Romeoville?

Wilczak: Our goal is to create a facility, leased or owned, to provide shelter for veterans in need of it. We envision the facility to provide housing for 12 veterans and a family of four. In addition to shelter and subsistence, we see the Ray Holloway House providing/coordinating necessary counseling and training to enable these veterans to gain any skills necessary to live an independent, self-supportive life.

Patch: As a Vietnam veteran, how does it make you feel to be part of the project?

Wilczak: As a Vietnam veteran, I, like many other Vietnam vets, am working to ensure that as our veterans return from combat duty, they get properly recognized and honored for their service, as well as receive necessary support to ensure a successful transition back to civilian life. I see the project as one of the things I can do to make this happen.

Patch: Previous Patch stories have reported that a series of fundraisers will be held to help pay for the Ray Holloway House. Are there any fundraisers planned for the near future?

Wilczak: We’ve just scratched the surface in our fundraising. And, yes, we are continually running fundraisers to gain the necessary money to open the Ray Holloway House; however, we will need to take advantage of more than local fundraisers. Local, state and federal grants are necessary to get the project started. Assistance from organizations such as veterans organizations such as the V.A., Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, Will County Veterans Assistance Commission, the Village of Romeoville, housing authorities, food pantries and counseling services are needed to ensure continuing operation.

Patch: How would you compare the way our nation treats veterans today to the way returning soldiers were treated in the late 1960s and 1970s?

Wilczak: Surely, there is a drastic difference today from what we experienced as a returning veteran from the Vietnam War and the soldier who is returning now. Public support for any war is proportional to how much the general public is threatened by its enemy and, unfortunately, in a greatly misunderstood and unpopular war, the public acted against the soldier to express their disapproval of our involvement. Adding to that, Vietnam was the first war we were able to watch “live” while sitting in our living rooms. It’s easy to pass judgment on right and wrong actions when you’re not threatened. War has never been pretty, nor will it ever be; however, our country would not be what it is today without a strong military force.