H. Tom "The Kauz" Kauzsler, Written by Sandy Long
USN Retired a Proud Seabee, Trucker and Brother, 1945-2009
Tom was much more than my oldest brother; he was my hero, father figure and my best friend who loved me unconditionally. No one is perfect though and I remember very well the way we hated each other until he graduated high school and went into the Navy Seabees. That all changed when he came home from basic training though, our friendship began then. Tom served 6 years active duty doing three tours in Viet Nam then finished out his military time of 20 years in the Navy Seabee Reserves. He loved the Seabees.
When I started my over the road driving career, Tom was jealous a little; he wanted to be a truck driver too, but he had four kids and a wife and felt that he should stay home with them. He had a good job as a tree trimmer in California though for many years. He moved back to our home state of Wisconsin for some years and then moved his family down to Missouri where the rest of the family lived. Not able to find work and with the kids being older, he decided to become a trucker in the early 1990’s. Tom took to trucking like a duck to water. He drove until early 2009 when back pain put him out of the seat. He was at the VA hospital in Ft. Leavenworth Kansas often for the pain that had moved to his shoulders too.
In June 2009, after the death of his oldest son, Tom started having some serious medical issues and was rushed to the hospital in Kansas City. It was found there that he had cancer and had it for a long time. Tom died six weeks later and was buried with full military honor at Ft. Leavenworth National Cemetery.
Tom’s dying left a huge hole in my life. Tom never failed to love me, be proud of me, encourage me in all of my pursuits outside of the truck or in it and was always there when loneliness set in to talk to. God and the Lady could have never given me a better big brother or best friend. Though I miss him greatly and sometimes the sorrow of his being gone overwhelms me, I hold in my heart that someday, somewhere, in another life, we will find each other again and I will have my big brother back.
