Memorial Day Ceremony Honors the Fallen

After a rousing , area residents took part in a more solemn ceremony held at the Farmington war monument in .

Emcee Maj. Andrew "Rocky" Raczkowski, U.S. Army Reserves, also chaired the parade. He took over this year from retiring parade chair Wally Christensen of , who with his wife, Lorraine, was honored during the event.

Raczkowski reminded the audience of recently passed legislation, signed by Gov. Rick Snyder on May 27, that authorizes the Secretary of State to issue Gold Star license plates to immediate family members of any Michigan soldier who dies while serving in the Armed Forces.

Local Gold Star parents include Bill and Sue Frank of Farmington Hills, whose son Capt. Stephen Frank was one of two soldiers killed on April 29, 2005, when an improvised explosive device detonated while they were inspecting a truck at a checkpoint. Bill Frank said that his son helped save the lives of more than 40 soldiers who were building a camp nearby.

Sue Frank thanked the community, and particularly Wally Christensen, for the support they've received, including the memorial to Capt. Frank in front of the at in Farmington Hills.

The Franks, along with veterans of World War II, the Korean war and the Vietnam war, helped lay a wreath on Memorial Park's war memorial.

Other speakers included U.S. Army veteran Cas Werda, a Novi resident who was blinded in 2007 by an improvised explosive device, and former Farmington Hills resident Col. Jerry Faunt, who earned a meritorious service award and has spent 30 years in the U.S. Army, including three tours in what Raczkowski called "the global war on terror."

"If words cannot repay the debt we owe these men and women, surely with our actions, we must strive to keep faith them, and with the vision that led them to battle and the final sacrifice," Faunt said, noting the recent death of Osama Bin Laden, founder of terrorist organization al-Qaeda, and refreshed memories of the terrorist attack on U.S. soil on Sept. 11, 2001. "Let us remember to move forward as a nation not filled with vengeance, but inspired by justice."