by Dennis Augustine
Birthday Blessing for Michael
Happy Birthday in heaven, dear brother.
Your love lives on through your sons:
Michael Jr., Andrew, Brock and Alex,
and your spirit through all of us who carry the Augustine name including our late mom and dad, and our sister Josie and brother, Steve.
Forever missed, forever loved.
by Dennis Augustine
On this Veterans Day, I proudly remember my late father, Frank Augustine, who served his country as a chaplain’s aide and cook at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, TX, and later at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. Following in the footsteps of his older brothers — Uncle Anthony and Uncle Joe — Dad carried forward a legacy of faith, service, and quiet strength that continues to inspire our family to this day.
I also honor my nephew, and late brother Michael’s son, Staff Sgt. Andrew Augustine, for his dedicated career (17 years of service next month) in the United States Air Force, where he and his squadron maintains and repairs fighter jets. His journey has taken him from Portugal, South Korea to Japan, and soon, in early 2026, he and his family (wife Kaylyn, also an Air Force Veteran serving as a civilian contractor, and their daughter Ayla) will be stationed in Germany.
From one generation to the next, the Augustine family’s spirit of service lives on — and we couldn’t be prouder.
by Dennis Augustine
“To the world you are a mother, but to your family you are the world.”
Today I celebrate you, Mamma — not with sorrow, but with gratitude for all you gave and all you were. I was your firstborn in 1950, three years after you arrived in the United States from Roccalumera, Messina, Sicily — and you were my first best friend. Your love shaped the man I became: disciplined, grateful, and rooted in family.
Thank you for the quiet moments that spoke volumes — the way you’d straighten a crooked collar, the gentle touch on my shoulder, the big hugs when you knew I was struggling, and the care packages from Fiore’s Italian Deli in Hoboken that carried the taste of home to my college days.
Thank you for the stories you told over simmering pasta sauce, weaving memories of your Sicilian childhood into lessons of resilience and grace. You taught me that even in humble beginnings, there is magic and history. That wisdom guided me when you referred me to your childhood friend, Carmine Sippo, who became my first mentor and helped set me on the path to a meaningful career in Podiatric Medicine and Foot Surgery.
On my bike ride the other afternoon — thinking about this twelfth anniversary of your passing — I looked up and saw skywriting planes forming a cross in the sky. It felt like your gentle reminder that faith still anchors me, just as you always did in my youth.
Buon Compleanno in Paradiso, Mama. Ti amo per sempre. (Happy Birthday in Heaven, Mamma. I love you always)
Veterans Day is the day set aside to thank all those who served honorably in the military—in wartime or peacetime. Our dad Frank Augustine was recognized in a distinguished service medal ceremony along with approximate 80 other Vets (and family of Vets that had passed away) in the Grand Rotunda of the Justice Brennan Courthouse in Jersey City, NJ, on April 15, 2014. He also received a Citation Certificate for his seven years in the US Army during WW ll, where he served as a cook and personal aide to his friend and mentor, Army Chaplain, Cape. William Walsh until September 15, when he was given an Honorable Discharge. The Even was a joint effort by Hudson Count Executive, Thomas A. DeGise, the Office of Veteran Affairs, and the Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders chaired by Anthony Romano. Dad also received a Proclamation from the Office of the Mayor (former) of Hoboken, presented by his 6th ward councilwoman and the mayor’s former Chief of Staff, Jennifer Giattino. At 97, dad was on of the oldest—if not the oldest Veteran to receive these honors. My sister Josephine, was present as was my dear late childhood friend Joseph Brennan.
Postscript: Dad has his late older brothers (my uncles) Anthony and Joseph Augustine to thank for his decision to follow their footsteps to serve in United States Army Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio Texas. Later, he did a second stint at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
Normally Veterans Day doesn’t include those active in military service (that’s observed on Armed Forces Day, I’ve included a photo of my nephew Andrew Augustine who chose a career in the United States Air Force about 10 years ago. My dad, his grandpa, was very proud of his grandson and would have wanted it that way.
I’m sure after a glimpse of the heavenly realm there’s no way we could drag you back into this earthly place for one more birthday. And that’s okay brother. May you continue to enjoy
all the blessings of being on the other side. Like I do every year on the anniversary of your birthday and of your passing, I’ve nostalgically spent time looking through some family photos of happier times. That tender smile of yours that lit up the room; The joy in your heart when you had your boys, Mikey, Andrew, Brock and Alex at your side. Well, you should know, your family is growing, two beautiful grandchildren, Luka, Ayler and one on the way.
Ode to Brother Michael
You left without Warning.
You were gone so fast.
All we have left are memories from throughout the years.
You were loved by so many you might not have known,
But, in our hearts is where you have grown.
The memories we all have will forever last;
Some that evoke laughter and others bring tears.
Happy Birthday little brother, you are now 65.
We love you.
Peace!
Responding to the Call for Humanitarian Relief in Ukraine: A Personal Connection Through My Wife's Russian Jewish Ancestry
Cecile and I have recently donated $500 to CARE’s Ukraine Crisis Fund, in memory of Cecile’s Russian Jewish grandparents David and Dora who escaped religious and ethnic persecution in a small town in Kiev (Russian spelling) vs Kyiv, (in the Ukrainian language) in the early 1900s. The decision opened up some old ancestral wounds, but we felt compelled to relieve some of the human suffering going on in Ukraine who have been caught in the crossfire, especially women and innocent children. Our son Jason’s middle name was given to him in honor of his great grandpa David (Dawid, in Hebrew).
Like so many, we have been transfixed by Putin’s invasion against Ukraine and horrified by the barbaric onslaught of its’ people, especially the mothers and their innocent children. I wanted to help in some way and discussed it with Cecile who agreed. Her grandparents lived in a small village called Ladyzhinka near Kiev, which in 1793 became part of the Russian Empire. By the end of the nineteenth century Jews accounted for around 32% of the population. This soon changed. During the pogroms (an organized massacre of the Jewish people) in Ladyzhinka around 1905 Jews were forced to flee. Needless to say, Ukraine has a long history of not being good to the Jews. Seeing the writing on the wall her great grandparents fled to Chicago, around the same period that Sholem Aleichem, author of “Fiddler on the Roof," who also grew up outside Kyiv fled to New York.
Fast forward to 1941, Nazi forces captured Kyiv, and promptly posted notices for Jews to gather near a place known as “Grandmother’s Ravine,” also known as "Babyn Yar.” On September 29-30, 1941, the SS-led forces gunned down 34,000 Jews, not including children who in many cases were buried alive as Nazi policy forbade wasting bullets on them. They were dumped in the ravine. By the end of the war, 100,000 were killed including Ukrainians, that lay in a mass grave at Babyn Yar, the site of the Holocaust memorial in Kyiv, World War ll’s deadliest massacre, recently bombed by the Russian military.
Prior to Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine, 2021 was shaping up to be a banner year for Ukraine’s Jews—a long overdue embrace of a long-suffering minority elected a Jew, Volodymyr Zelenskyy for president in 2019. Zelenskyy's grandfather fought the Nazis in World War ll and he lost members of his family in the Holocaust. At the same time, Volodymyr Groysman, also Jewish became prime minister. In May of last year, Ukraine’s top rabbi inaugurated a new synagogue at Babyn Bar. Several months prior the government approved plans for a $100 million, two-museum memorial at Babyn Yar that was slated to become the world’s largest Holocaust shrine, which Zelenskyy’s seemingly made a top priority. The year after Zelenskyy and Groysman took office, Pew Research Center study found that that 83% of Ukranians had a favorable opinion of Jews, compared to only 5% the year before thanks to government that unites people rather than divides.
This would make the late Israel ben Eliezer, or Baal Shem Tov, a Jewish mystic and healer, and, the father of Hasidic Judaism that has a center in Ukraine very happy.
The ongoing war with Russia beginning in 2014, including the current Russian invasion has given Ukraine’s Jews a renewed sense of patriotism. Their national identity is no longer tied to their ethnicity but rather their citizenship. Unlike the years Cecile’s grandparents experienced persecution and felt compelled to leave the country, due to positive political developments mentioned earlier, Ukraine’s Jews are more accepted today than any other time in its history. “Thanks to Putin, there are now Ukrainian Jews,” the chief rabbi of Kyiv was quoted as saying in 2016. Unfortunately, as the aggressive and deadly invasion by the Russian military continues against Ukraine the top priority now is sheer survival of a sovereign nation of Jews and non-Jews alike.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the most famous man in the world at this moment in history is drawing from a deep well within himself, demonstrating to the entire world what true courage, leadership, and commitment look like. The former comedian, turned president is leading the Ukrainian people through an existential crisis with a heartless dictator. He has proven himself to be a skillful and credible communicator that makes headlines and lights up social media platforms. He has a deep sense of humanity and empathy, rarely seen in the political leaders. He is resolute in the midst of adversity yet down to earth and accessible. He has given people hope in what appears to be a hopeless situation amid a refugee crisis that Europe hasn’t seen since 1945. We pray this will be enough. With several attempts made against his life by would be assassins, the country and supporters main fear is he may become a martyr to the cause.
In the meantime, our donation is intended to ease the suffering of people caught in the crossfire and is dedicated to the memory of Cecile’s late grandparents, David and Dora whose choice to escape the tyranny made it possible for Cecile and I to meet and raise a beloved family. They had two children, Cecile's nana Esther (her mother Marge's mother) and her uncled Joe. The second photo is Esther taken in Chicago (second photo).
"Only the Brave”—a poem for Ukraine
To kneel before a tank
Prepared to perish
And picks up arms
Their arms have never held
To hold fast to the freedom
That they cherish,
Unyielding faith
The giants can be quelled
With dropping jaws, we marvel
At the Courage of Ukraine
A hero named Zelenskyy at its head
Committed to survival of his country,
He stays to fight
When others would have fled
We pray that David triumphs
Over Goliath
A dream with fruition yet unknown
But in an age-old fight
Of good v. evil,
The world has told Ukraine,
“You’re not alone.”
—By Lainie Wachter, Rancho Mirage
Appeared in the Palm Springs Desert Sun
March 1, 2022
