Jun 09 2022
Mitch Hotts | Macomb Daily
Clinton Township officials Saturday will rededicate the Gold Star Families Memorial monument honoring the families of service people who sacrificed their lives while serving in the military.
The rededication will take place at 1 p.m. at the Gold Star Families monument in front of the Civic Center, 40700 Romeo Plank Road.
“On June 11, it will be a year since we unveiled the monument, almost to the day,” Township Supervisor Bob Cannon said in a statement. “And since that time, there’s been a large number of requests for Gold Star Family Memorial Monument bricks. So this ceremony will honor the names on those bricks of soldiers who gave their lives for our country.”
Retired U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Travis Mills of the 82nd Airborne, who became a quadruple amputee while serving in Afghanistan, will be the keynote speaker. He is a motivational speaker, actor, author, and advocate for veterans and amputees. His memoir, “Tough as They Come,” is a New York Times bestseller.
Also scheduled to speak are Scott Davis and Maj. Gen Daren L. Werner, Commanding General, U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command.
Nick and Karen Straffon, who, along with a group of volunteers, led a successful fundraising campaign to bring the monument to Clinton Township, are expected to be on hand.
The Gold Star Family Memorial Monument program is the vision of 98-year-old Hershel “Woody” Williams, the nation’s only surviving Medal of Honor recipient from World War II.
Williams, who attended and spoke at last year’s dedication, began a foundation in 2010 to honor Gold Star Families. Monuments are either erected or planned to be in all 50 states.