Obituaries
'Field of Honor' Pays Tribute to 245 Fallen Michigan Troops
Displays this weekend at cemeteries in Oakland Township and Clinton Township honor troops who died in Afghanistan and Iraq, including soldiers from St. Clair Shores and Grosse Pointe.
Just inside the iron gates of on Rochester Road in Oakland Township, 245 American flags arranged meticulously in six rows flap in the breeze.
Each of the flags represents a Michigan serviceman or woman who died as a result of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and each flagpole bears that man or woman's name, photograph, hometown and a short biography.
A second Field of Honor with more than 200 flags is set up at Resurrection Cemetery, at 18201 Clinton River Road in Clinton Township.
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A Grosse Pointe Farms man and several St. Clair Shores troops are among those honored, and they include:
- Army Staff Sgt. Donald L. Munn II of St. Clair Shores, MI, died Oct. 11, 2007, when an explosive device detonated near his unit in Baghdad.
- Army Sgt. Peter C. Neesley of Grosse Pointe Farms, MI, died Dec. 25, 2007 in Iraq of undetermined causes.
- Army Spc. Stephen M. Okray of St. Clair Shores, MI, died Dec. 24, 2008, in Southern Iraq after the road collapsed and his Humvee rolled over.
Guardian Angel Cemetery Director Wendy Mann said the goal of the Field of Honor is simply to pay tribute to Michigan's fallen military members. "Look at what these people sacrificed," she said. "It’s just amazing."
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Guardian Angel Cemetery will host a Memorial Mass at 2 p.m. Sunday. It will be followed by a service to honor all veterans and military members. At Ressurrection, a 10 a.m. mass on Monday will be follwed by a special service to honor all veterans. Call (800) 989-2020 for more information.
The services and ceremonies are open to the public.
For a photo gallery of all 245 tributes, see
