To Tallahassee and Back: Remembering a Tough Old Marine

When Sen. Mike Fasano was first elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1994, one of the first people we got to know in the community was a gentleman named Jimmy Rossi. 

Mr. Rossi was a World War Two veteran who was proud of his service as a Marine.  If memory serves me correctly I think he lied about his age so he could enlist.  Proud is not a word that does him justice. In fact, his military service defined much of who he was as a retiree. He wore his Marine Corps League cap everywhere he went. He was an active member of that organization. As a Marine he was there when they landed at Iwo Jima and I suspect he knew the fellows who planted the flag. Even though Mr. Rossi died many years ago, his memory is alive and well in our office even to this day.

In my office I have a lot of memorabilia that remind me of the people and legislation that I have respectively met and worked on over the years. On a shelf sandwiched between a New York Police Department patch (a memento of September 11) and a Junior Achievement “Solid Gold Volunteer Award” mug sits a flag holder.  It holds two flags, one of the United States of America and the other of the United States Marine Corps.Mr. Rossi gave these flags to me about 16 years ago, and I see them every day from my desk.

When Sen. Fasano first ran for the House he had a primary and a runoff campaign to get through before the general election.  The runoff election, or second primary, has since been abolished, by the way.  In The Tampa Tribune on October 5, 1994 a photo of Mike Fasano greeting an unnamed voter outside of Heritage Lake Estates ran with the announcement that Fasano had won the runoff the day before.  The unnamed voter was Mr. Rossi and he soon became a fixture during the earliest years of the legislative office.

Mr. Rossi was a founding member of then-Representative Fasano’s advisory committee for veterans issues. Mr. Rossi frequently stopped in to share his wonderful ideas on almost any subject under the sun.  Sometimes he would just sit and chat about his days in the War.  Even as I type this I feel my eyes stinging at the thought of him leaning forward in his chair, punctuating his words with a stubby finger poking in the air. He was always excited and bursting with enthusiasm. He was one of those people who believed in America and all that it has to offer. I never once heard him say anything negative about our country.  Of course, a Marine never would speak ill of this great nation.

Back before caller ID, we never knew who would be on the phone when we picked it up. However, before he said two words Mr. Rossi’s distinctive voice would put a smile on the face of whoever answered the phone. You had no choice but to be swept up by his infectious enthusiasm. Although physically he was on the slight side he was a tough old Marine nonetheless. As a young man I am sure he held his own against guys twice his size. But he had a heart of gold.  That may be a clichéd term but it was true in his case.

Mike Fasano respected what Tom Brokaw would later call “The Greatest Generation,” of which Mr. Rossi was the perfect representative.  Mr. Rossi returned that respect with his loyalty and constant involvement in the good work that Fasano did to help veterans.  I is not a stretch to say that the Baldomero Lopez State Veterans Nursing Home in Land O’ Lakes exists because of the Mr. Rossi’s who crossed our path in those early years.

A lot of good people have passed through the doors of our district office, and our lives, over the years. Each have left a mark on us as individuals and on legislation that was filed (some of which became law). Mr. Rossi was one of those whose contributions to Florida may not be memorialized in the statue books by name, but will never be forgotten by those of us who knew him.  He and others like him, some still with us and some long gone, are what make government what it truly was created to be: “by the people and for the people.” 

Mr. Rossi left us quickly, at least it seemed that way. Never one to complain about his personal health, he just stopped coming by the office.  His calls tapered off too. One day I remember commenting to my colleague Christine Hunter that we had not heard from Mr. Rossi in awhile. Then we received word that he had passed away.  Just like that another piece of our nation’s history had left us.  I don’t know what his legacy to the rest of the world may have been, but to us he left an indelible mark. May you rest in peace, Mr. Rossi.  I see your flag every day and it keeps your memory alive within me.

I welcome your questions about the legislative process, state government or any related matters.  Please feel free to leave your questions in the comment section and I will answer them in an upcoming post.  If there is a specific topic you would like me to write about please let me know as well.  I look forward to responding to your comments!