Dearborn's Veteran of the Year Still Leads Life of Service

U.S. Army veteran Lenny Pitek has been named the 2015 Dearborn Veteran of the Year.

The selection was made by the Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council.

Pitek will be honored during Dearborn’s annual Veterans Day ceremony at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center, 15801 Michigan Ave. The public is invited to attend.

Pitek has lived in Dearborn for 63 years and for more than three decades has contributed to Dearborn’s veteran community.

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“To be picked by these past Veterans of the Year when there are so many people that are deserving makes me feel good and I appreciate it,” Pitek said, according to a news release.

The selection committee looks for veterans whose actions improve the lives of others and who have the personal qualities of honor, leadership, compassion and commitment.

AMVETS No. 4 General Henry Dearborn Post nominated Pitek for Veteran of the Year.

Frank Pelaccio, who is junior vice commander for the Post, said, “Lenny is a loyal participant in activities that help others across the city. His humility and his dedication to many organizations and causes speak to his character.

“Lenny volunteers his time and his own money,” said Pelaccio, who is also a past Veteran of Year. “Anything to help a fellow veteran and veteran causes, Lenny simply asks, ‘what can I do to help?’ ”

Volunteering for Veterans

Pitek is the commander of AmVets #4 General Henry Dearborn Post. He is an active member of the American Legion Fort Dearborn Post 364, Polish Legion of American Veterans Chapter 75 and the DAWVC Ritual Team.

Previously Pitek was commander of the Ritual Team. He has also been chaplain for the DAWVC and the American Legion Post 364.

Pitek volunteers at the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center where he distributes Christmas gifts and helps with the popular Vegas days.

Tradition of Service

Through small acts, life becomes significant. Pitek provides comfort to others as chaplain and as part of the Ritual Team.

The DAWVC Ritual Team is made up of a dozen members and was established in 2000. Pitek has been a member since it began.

Tradition and symbolism, so engrained in the military, is even more evident here.

As a chaplain, Pitek prays and sends cards to the sick.

The Ritual Team participates in about a dozen ceremonial events a year including on Memorial Day, Flag Day and Veterans Day.

But it is the quiet solemn individual funerals, memorials and grave-side services that Pitek remembers most. The DAWVC ritual team provides military honors, including a rifle volley, playing of taps and the powerful folding and presentation of the U.S. burial flag.

Many of those ceremonies, taking place often weekly, are conducted in Dearborn. They have also gone to the Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly.

With the signing of the National Defense Authorization Act in 2000, Military Funeral Honors became a statutory benefit, at no cost, to all eligible veterans.

“It doesn’t matter what you give up to do these rituals,” Pitek said. “For me it is a sense of pride. These veterans were our brothers and they deserve recognition and a proper burial. We honor our fallen comrades and I think it helps. I want to give back to families in their time of grief. They are very appreciative.”

Other Volunteerism

Pitek is also past president of St. Martha’s Dad’s Club, where he helped organize Christmas parties and Easter egg hunts and raised money for local families in need.

Military Service

Dearborn’s Veteran of the Year served in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Germany with the 4th Armored Division during the Cold War from 1957 to 1960.

“It was a shaky time, the Atomic Age. We were part of the NATO forces and there were threats to kick us out of Europe,” he said. “I left the States in November 1957 and didn’t come home until I left active duty, the end of March 1960. Then I served with the Army Reserve until 1963.”

Education, Career and Family

Pitek attended Fordson High School and received his GED while in the military.

Pitek retired from Ameritech in 1998 after 28 years of service.

He and his wife, Dianne, have been married for 45 years have three children, Anthony, Jennifer and Monica, and three grandchildren: Jack, Tyler and Jacob.