Vets to join hall of fame

He has accumulated more than 25,000 hours of
volunteer service for
veterans.

By WILLIAM K. ALCORN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — “I’m humbled when I think of the group of people I am joining,” said Robert M. Brienik of Austintown, who will be inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame on Nov. 8.

The induction ceremony for the 20 members of the Class of 2007 is at 11 a.m. in the auditorium of the Franklin County Veterans Memorial in Columbus. The event is open to the public and will be preceded by a public reception beginning at 10 a.m.

The Class of 2007 includes representatives of armed conflicts from the War of 1812, World War I, World War II, and the Korea and Vietnam Wars.

Other inductees with area ties include:

USamuel Huntington, Trumbull County: Army veteran of the War of 1812. In addition to Huntington’s military service, he served as the first speaker of the Ohio Senate in 1803 and one year later became the chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court. In 1808, he was elected as the third governor of Ohio, and then served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1811 to 1813.

UEllen M. Leidy, Summit County: A Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam Era, she is a life member of the Marine Corps League and is its junior-vice commandant for the Department of Ohio. She also is a member of the Governor’s Advisory Committee for Women Veterans.

UAtty. William M. O’Neill, Geauga County: An Army veteran of the Vietnam War, O’Neill served Ohio as an assistant attorney general and a judge on the 11th District Court of Appeals. In 2001, he received his nursing degree and is an on-call pediatric emergency room nurse.

Brienik, since 1992, has accumulated between 25,000 and 26,000 hours of volunteer duties, mostly at the Veterans Affairs Youngstown Outpatient Clinic and Brecksville Hospital.

He also maintains records for a number of volunteer veteran color guard units for local funerals and at the Western Reserve National Cemetery in Rittman.

He said he volunteers because the country needs more volunteers, especially for veterans. “I wore the uniform, but I never saw combat. It’s just a way of giving back,” he said.

Brienik, 70, originally of Cleveland, worked in management positions at General Motors for 37 years, retiring in 1992. He served in the Army on active duty from 1956 to 1958, and in the stand-by reserves from 1959 to 1962.

In addition to his volunteer activities, he has held offices in the Korean War Veterans Association, Italian American Veterans post, Tri-State Marine Post 494, Marine Corps League Coordinating Council, Mahoning Veterans Memorial, AMVETS Post 44, and the United Veterans Council of Youngstown.

Brienik received the 2006 Community Service Award presented by the 24th Masonic District. In 1997, he was named Veteran of the Year by the United Veterans Council of Youngstown.

Another of his volunteer activities is the sight-impaired veterans golf league. In 1998, he volunteered as a mentor and driver for a group of sight-impaired veterans to attend the National Blind Veterans Golf Tournament in Iowa City, Iowa. Since then, he has continued these annual trips for the blind veterans, which involves a full week, functioning as driver, guide, caddie and companion.

He is also a volunteer coordinator at the World War II Vehicle Museum and Learning Center in Hubbard.

Brienik and his wife, Carol, have been married for 43 years and have two sons and one grandchild.

alcorn@vindy.com