Los Alamitos Mayor Warren Kusumoto gave a shout out to Monday to local resident Edmund Rusinek, a 92-year-old engineer and Army veteran who lives in Rossmoor with his wife Krystyna.
On Feb. 8, Rusinek stopped by the neighborhood Chick-fil-A where he gave the manager a wad of cash, reportedly $1,500, along with the instructions to pay for service members and their families meals.
Since the article appeared originally in the Orange County Register, it has been widely reported and picked up by websites around the country.
The article contends that back in 1945, while attending training in Little Rock, Arkansas, he wanted to take a break from Army food and left the base for some ‘good ole Southern food.’ During the meal, Rusinek said an elderly gentleman walked up during the meal and asked if he could pay for their food. Apparently, the act of kindness was a lesson that Rusinek never forgot.
After the war, Rusinek was a Rockwell engineer and said in the article that he always wanted to pay the gift forward.
Kusomoto said he wanted to give a “shout out” to Rusinek for his good deed, saying he hoped all local citizens could “emulate” the kindness of the local veteran.
The Chick fil’a in Rossmoor is equidistant between the Joint Forces Training Base and the Seal Beach Naval Weapons station, so there was no shortage of active duty veterans to enjoy the free lunches.
Courtesy photo