Members of the Florida National Guard presented attorney Don Maciejewski with a token of thanks for years of litigation help and pro bono work.
Chief Warrant Officer Gregg Porter from Task Force Raptor returned from a nine-month tour in Bosnia with a commemorative flag and plaque recognizing Maciejewski’s service to the unit.
Since the unit was deployed to Bosnia in 2004, Maciejewski of Zisser, Robison, Brown, Nowlis and Maciejewski served as litigator and legal adviser to the unit on matters ranging from air crashes to family law. In many instances, Maciejewski picked up where the Judge Advocate corps left off. Porter said the help from home allowed his task force’s pilots to focus on their mission.
“The judge advocates work for military matters but not so much for the individual soldier who might have family concerns back home,” said Porter. “You don’t want to have pilots worrying about family concerns when you’re flying low-altitude night-ops through mountain passes. Don helped us keep those concerns out of the cockpit.”
For Maciejewski, a former Army officer and helicopter pilot, the award meant as much to him as any of the accolades he’s received as an attorney. Task Force Raptor flew the framed flag during its Bosnia mission.
“My highest position in life was as an Army aviator,” said Maciejewski. “For these guys operating in harm’s way to take the time to do a kind gesture like this really humbles me.”