The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and the Fallen Heroes Memorial Foundation will unveil a new memorial at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5, outside the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office in Pontiac.
The memorial, titled “Lest They Be Forgotten,” honors the 22 Oakland County residents who sacrificed their lives in military service in the years since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The ceremony will include remarks from keynote speaker Major Gen. Paul Rogers, the adjutant general of the Michigan Army and Air National Guard and the director of the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard. Members of the Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program, U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps, Young Marines and Junior ROTC will bring in the flags.
“This memorial gives families a place to go to know that we haven’t forgotten their loved ones,” said Bouchard, who founded and brought about the construction of the adjacent Michigan Fallen Heroes Memorial (MFHM), which honors Michigan’s first responders from police and fire service who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
Bouchard invited Skip Bushart, the president of the Fallen Heroes Memorial Foundation, to construct this Military Memorial adjacent to the MFHM to honor the brave sacrifices of Oakland County soldiers who were lost, as well as to create a sacred place where survivors and the general public may pay their respects to the memory of those lost heroes. The installation of this Military Memorial is the 31st of its kind across the State of Michigan.
Two black granite slabs feature 10-inch square plaques with each serviceman’s name, hometown, date of birth and death, rank, branch of service and a picture of their medals earned. An image of each serviceman has been etched into the granite beside the plaques.
The president of the Fallen Heroes Memorial Foundation, Skip Bushart, who served 33 years in the U.S. Air Force, said he was proud to build the memorial in Oakland County, not just as an American and a military veteran, but also as a Gold Star father. His son, Damian S. Bushart, who died in 2003 while serving in the U.S. Army, is among those included in the memorial.
“This is a reminder – for all of us – of the sacrifices that were made so we can enjoy the freedoms we hold today,” Bushart said. “As a father, it means a lot to me to know that my son’s service will be recognized and appreciated.”
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