Families from across Michigan will travel to Northville over the next four days to see a traveling veterans memorial.
The Northville High School baseball team is honoring our fallen veterans through a series of events held throughout the week, which includes playing host to the Remembering Our Fallen Veterans Memorial, which is a mobile photographic war memorial that honors military men and women lost during The War on Terror.
On Tuesday, Gold Star families, and community members, helped assemble and place new photos in the memorial, which features 31 glass tribute towers with pictures of nearly 5,000 veterans, many donated by the families of the lost soldiers. The memorial arrived via Michigan State Police escort.
There are 85 Michigan veterans recognized in the towers, including six from Oakland County from communities such as Milford, Waterford, Rochester Hills, Lathrup Village, Ferndale and Lake Orion. You can view of list of those Michigan soldiers, with names and hometowns, here: fallen.dataomaha.com/michigan.
Bill Flohr, Northville’s assistant varsity baseball coach, helped bring the memorial to Michigan as part of National Armed Forces Day, which is Saturday, May 19.
“To have this sit on our high school grounds for five days is something really special,” said Flohr. “This is a brand new memorial that has only been shown in five other places nationwide. We thought this would be a great way to honor these men and women, the ultimate teammates. Our team embraces this special week. It’s awesome.”
Public viewing of the memorial will be held from 5 p.m. Thursday through 4 p.m. Saturday. Each day, the Westland Police Color Guard will be on hand for closing ceremonies held at dusk.
Gold Star parent Judy Gentz said the memorial is a way to document history and remind citizens of the ultimate sacrifice given by these men and women.
“My son was raised in Grass Lake and was a combat rescue officer in the U.S. Air Force,” said Gentz. “He was on his first deployment in 2010 on a rescue mission when his helicopter was shot down. This memorial is of huge importance to family members that our children are not forgotten.”
Other events being hosted by the baseball team include: a benefit concert, a Veteran vs. Northville Fire and Police Department softball game, a 5K run and a baseball doubleheader.
Gower, a U.S. Army veteran, sustained a traumatic brain injury as well as injuries to his back, legs and feet while serving in Baghdad. On Aug. 2, 2007, his vehicle rolled over an explosive device, which killed several others.
Visit www.NHSArmedForcesDay.com to donate or find more information on all the events.
ABOUT HOME FOR OUR TROOPS: https://www.hfotusa.org/
ABOUT REMEMBERING OUR FALLEN VETERANS MEMORIAL: http://www.rememberingourfallen.org/
INFORMATION ON ALL NORTHVILLE EVENTS: http://www.nhsarmedforcesday.com/
ARMED FORCES DAY: http://afd.defense.gov/