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WHEREAS, Thomas Aquinas Cusick, Jr. was born on September 23, 1946, in El Centro, California to his father, Thomas, Sr. who was a U.S. Marine veteran of WWII and a Pittsburgh Police Officer, and mother Ruth, who died when Tom was 7 years old. He is the second of 9 children; and,
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WHEREAS, Tom graduated from South Hills High School in 1964. Upon graduation, he joined the Marine Corp and was sent to Vietnam. On March 31, 1967, Tom was injured and knocked unconscious from an explosion which instantly killed the three Marines he was with. Tom was awarded a Purple Heart for his injuries. More than 56 years later, Tom still suffers from the trauma, and is 95% deaf, relying on a special headset to hear clearly; and,
WHEREAS, Tom along with volunteers across the country, helped create the "The Wall of Faces" Vietnam Wall Memorial, collecting photos of fallen loved ones named on the wall. The project was completed on August 15, 2022, with pictures of all 58,281 names listed. In November, 2022, Tom organized a trip to the memorial with Vietnam Veterans, where they read the names of the 58,281 men and women inscribed on the Vietnam Wall Memorial; and,
WHEREAS, as Commander of VFW Post 5111, he and other VFW members along with the Mt. Washington CDC, worked to have 81 military banners installed on street poles along Grandview Avenue in Mt. Washington, using legislation introduced by Council President Theresa Kail Smith; and,
WHEREAS, Tom serves on the Board of Directors of the Vietnam Veterans Inc. of Pittsburgh; he is part of the Honor Guard that performs many funeral services and color guard duties in Veteran Parades; In 2021, Tom was the Commander of the Federation of War Veterans Societies of Allegheny County which organizes the annual Veterans Day Parade in Downtown Pittsburgh; and,
WHEREAS, after Tom returned to civilian life, he worked for thirteen years as an Allegheny County Jail Guard. Subsequently, Tom became a postal carrier in Mt. Washingto...
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