Sgt. Shaft remembers Club bartender Jack Kujawski

John Fales, a National Press Club member and columnist for the Washington Times, wrote the following brief for Military.com about the late Club bartender Jack Kujawski in his Sgt. Shaft column on July 21 (http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,233819,00.html):

Family and friends will be bidding a sad farewell to Jack Kujawski on the morning of Aug. 23 at Arlington National Cemetery. My good friend and fellow veteran Jack was the beloved bartender at the National Press Club.

After graduating from Shenandoah Catholic High School, Jack joined the Army, serving as a Cryptographic Communications Center specialist. His first overseas military service was in the Philippines, and then to Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Vietnam. Along with his assigned duties, Jack drew the admiration of many for his volunteer duty: protecting a school for U.S. dependents from terrorist attacks. Sadly, it was in Vietnam where Jack was exposed to Agent Orange, which was thought to have seriously affected him in the later years of his life.

Jack was assigned to the Army reserves in Oakland, Calif., following his service in Asia. While there, he began a brief acting career, auditioning for the lead in “Gunsmoke”; actor James Arness prevailed. When he relocated to Washington, D.C., Jack spent 25 years serving the Club members and his colleagues in many ways. He was a bartender, concerned friend and storyteller of the great experiences in life.