<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0nNSMl_1H1iFkxg00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0nNSMl_1H1iFkxg00" width="1400" height="985" ><figcaption>After the event, a rifle volley and Taps were performed by the American Legion Patriot Team Post 4 Honor Guard. Photo by Patricia O’Blenes</figcaption></figure>HARRISON TOWNSHIP — In Harrison Township on Nov. 7, an emotional ceremony took place, remembering veterans who had passed on and adding four names to the stones in the memorial garden just outside of Rosso Hall. As the start time rolled around, family members of the fallen, members of the Harrison Township Beautification Commission, the L’Anse Creuse Select Ensemble and guests filtered into the hall. Sue Keehn, the Beautification Commission chair, started the ceremony by welcoming guests to the event. “Thank you everybody, we do this every year,” Sue Keehn said. “The Beautification Commission is committed to the veterans as are all of our board, our trustees and supervisor are just honored to be able to engrave our inductees on the memorial wall.” <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3L9bKN_1H1iFkxg00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3L9bKN_1H1iFkxg00" width="1055" height="1400" ><figcaption>Allan T. Manning is one of the veterans honored at this year’s program. He spoke about his time in the armed forces and what it was like. Photo by Patricia O’Blenes</figcaption></figure>Sue Keehn said while residents were at home, veterans traveled far to make sure they stayed safe. “Words are not enough to (give) them what they’re due,” Sue Keehn said. “On Veterans Day please thank them for their service to me and you.” The four honored veterans are Frederick C. Bantle, John P. Dubrawski, William F. Kaake and Allan T. Manning. Manning spoke at the ceremony. He said he joined the army at 19 and that seeing the choir made him realize how young he was. After high school, he went to college and experienced financial issues. He joined the army due to the GI Bill, formally known as the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944. “I didn’t join it to have my name engraved on a wall later or to be recognized like we are today,” Manning said. “I just did it like a lot of other guys and gals did.” He said the experience was intimidating and a bit scary in the beginning. “I realized I was with a group of guys, you know, they weren’t John Waynes, right, they were just average guys, just got out of high school looking for a way to find their way in life,” Manning said. “I’d like to thank you for coming today and celebrating with us. I appreciate the attention you give to veterans.” Family members received the certificates for their deceased loved ones and later, they gathered with Manning to view the stones with the engraved names. The memorial stands right outside of Rosso Hall on L’Anse Creuse Street. Marble stones are carved with the names of Harrison Township veterans with benches carved out of the same material. A cobblestone walkway leads to it so residents and others can read the names. Sue Keehn later said the memorial area is decorated with lavender and white roses. When in full bloom, the flowers offer a calming sensation for anyone who visits. Jim Keehn, a Beautification Commission member, gave the invocation. “May our words today honor them, but may our lives honor them even more,” Jim Keehn said. The choir sang “The Star Spangled Banner” and “Song for the Unsung Hero,” bringing tears to those in the audience. Macomb County Commissioner Barbara Zinner led the Pledge of Allegiance and said a few words. “All the commissioners are so thankful for our veterans,” Zinner said. “We do all we can for our veterans. We are thankful for everything that we have, our freedoms, our liberties and we just, we love being Americans.” Steve Mrozek, Selfridge Military Air Museum director and curator, detailed the history of Selfridge Air National Guard Base. Mrozek is also a veteran with 26 years of military service. “Here in Harrison Township, we live in the shadow of the second oldest air base in the United States,” Mrozek said. “Selfridge has been the home of air nautical innovation for over a century. In fact, next July the base will be 110 years old. Doesn’t look like it, does it?” He started from the beginning with the man whose name is honored in the base, Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge. Mrozek said he was an aviation pioneer in his own right in Canada. He was aboard a plane with aviation pioneer Orville Wright in 1908, acting as observer for the flight. On the last cycle, the aircraft experienced some difficulties and Wright cut the power. The craft went straight down. Wright experienced some broken bones while Selfridge had a head injury that led to his death the next day. His death marked the first life lost in the military due to aviation. He died at 26. “He never made it to Michigan as far as I can tell, but he sacrificed a lot,” Mrozek said. “Both in his passion and also for military aviation.” The base was established in July 1917 shortly after the United States entered World War I known, at the time as the Great War. At the Harrison Township Board of Trustees meeting on Nov. 9, Township Supervisor Kenneth Verkest thanked Sue Keehn, Jim Keehn and others who helped with the program. </div></body>

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HARRISON TOWNSHIP — In Harrison Township on Nov. 7, an emotional ceremony took place, remembering veterans who had passed on and adding four names to the stones in the memorial garden just outside of Rosso Hall. As the start time rolled around, family members of the fallen, members of...

Beautification Commission, township honor veterans

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HARRISON TOWNSHIP — In Harrison Township on Nov. 7, an emotional ceremony took place, remembering veterans who had passed on and adding four names to the s

Beautification Commission, township honor veterans

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