On behalf of the Clinton Township Kiwanis Club, Lori and Rowdy Stilwell and their family and club members recently set out to place American flags on the graves of veterans buried at Resurrection Cemetery in Clinton Township.

Over the course of several hours, they read headstones searching for veteran information. They believe they found about a third of the veterans who are laid to rest there. It was part of the preparation for the Dec. 14 Wreaths Across America program. The flags they placed will let volunteers know where to lay wreaths during the ceremony that honors them. The ceremony begins at noon at the American Veterans Memorial section; and Resurrection is at 18201 Clinton River Road.

“We literally walked miles to place the flags. I called my son over to help clean headstones that were overgrown and covered with dirt. It was a very peaceful day, reading the headstones, and very interesting. There was a family out there placing their own grave blanket on their uncle’s grave and they asked if they could have a flag because he was a veteran. That was pretty cool,” she said.

The honor guard is The Patriot Team of the Harry Ollrich American Legion Post 4 of Mount Clemens under commander Mike “Sarge” Parr.

Mike Miski, a U.S. Air Force veteran will be honored with the first wreath in a gesture that may be unique to the WAA events at Resurrection.

“We call that the ceremonial first wreath,” Parr said. He said The Patriot Team has done it for about a dozen years but was not aware of other Wreaths Across America locations bestowing that particular honor.

Miski was commander of The Point Team, the honor guard of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 154 for about five years. He died last year, one day after Christmas, at the age of 80. He and his wife Sandi would have celebrated their 42nd wedding anniversary just this past week.

Sandi Miski said her husband was an older teenager when he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. He became a staff sergeant and chief aircraft mechanic who served in Vietnam 1964-65 in DaNang and Biên Hòa. At a chance encounter decades later with the late Digger Odell, a pilot and former prisoner of war of the North Vietnamese, Odell recognized Miski and came over to say he remembered his service.

Miski also served with the Coast Guard Auxiliary, including as flotilla commander, vice commander, and flotilla staff officer. He held the highest office as a district staff officer for vessel exams.

He was known as “Mike The Car Guy” for his color craftsmanship with his business CMC Custom Collision. As a master fabricator and craftsman, his customers’ cars were featured in magazines and car shows including the Concours D’Elegance. He was a judge at Autorama.

The second wreath, Parr said, goes to the Chapter 154 Point Team to lay in the cemetery’s circle of monuments. Volunteers take it from there.

“Our club donated $10,000 to this program and we had more funds come in to get the wreaths we needed,” project chair Lori Stilwell said about the Clinton Township Kiwanis. “What we need now is the people to lay the wreaths. We are at 3,468 wreaths.” That’s about half the number of veterans buried at Resurrection she said. Eight hundred wreaths were purchased by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Wood-Reid Post 6691 in Fraser. Legion Post 4 donated close to $900 for event banners.

Stilwell is looking for volunteers among individuals, families, scout troops, churches, businesses, re-enactors, veterans organizations, Kiwanis-sponsored high school Key Clubs, and other service clubs.

Resurrection Cemetery is supplying warming and registration tents, cookies, coffee and hot chocolate, chairs and tables, and the flags for the graves. Volunteers will receive Wreaths Across America lapel pins from the Kiwanis club. Stilwell can be reached at 586-295-7957.

“We ask them to take a wreath and to say the name of the veteran out loud and thank them for their service, then lay the wreath down,” Stilwell said.

Resurrection’s American Veterans Memorial has large tablets dedicated to the different branches of service. As of this week, Stilwell didn’t have an Army soldier or veteran or an active duty or veteran from the Space Force to represent those services with wreaths. But they will be placed by a veteran or service member. Rowdy Stilwell has been the U.S. Marine Corps representative for a dozen years.

“We are hoping 400 to 500 people will come. The flyover at noon by the Coast Guard will depend on the weather. Our longterm goal is to buy enough wreaths to cover every veterans’ grave,” she said.

“Wreaths Across America has become a wide-scope, all-50-states plus abroad, kind of an organization,” event keynote speaker Doug Slocum said. “And if you think about it, it’s about the past, present and future. It’s about remembering the fallen, honoring those who serve in the present, and then teaching the next generation about the value of freedom. There are so many great Michiganders that we get an opportunity to hopefully high-five, not only those who are with us, but say a prayer for those who are not.”

Slocum, who retired as the commander of the 127th Wing at Selfridge Air National Guard base, said he hopes the event attracts a lot of young people who will learn firsthand from the event about honoring the nation’s military.

There is also a Wreaths Across America ceremony at noon Dec. 14 at St. Mary’s Cemetery, 36105 24 Mile Road, New Baltimore. WAA events are also at Cadillac Memorial Gardens in Clinton Township and at the Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly.

Vietnam and Vietnamese vets honored by Air Force Associations

The Michigan Air and Space Forces Association “Business Over Breakfast” is 7:30-9:30 a.m. Dec. 13 at Mission BBQ, 13905 Lakeside Circle, Sterling Heights. There will be a salute to Vietnam veterans and a holiday celebration. The MASFA is the new name of the Michigan Air Force Association.

“We’d love to see as many Vietnam veterans and our South Vietnamese allied veterans there as we can,” Doug “Odie” Slocum said. He is president of the Michigan AFA, an independent, nonprofit, civilian education organization promoting public understanding of aerospace power and the pivotal role it plays in the security of the nation.

See the link https://conta.cc/4eXYLee about the event — that is limited to 80 people — or contact him at dslocum@theslocumgroup.com or 586-224-4885.

Send news of service clubs and veterans organizations to Linda May at lindamay@ameritech.net or call landline 586-791-8116.