Ceremony Honors East Lansing Military Veterans

Above: Dedication of the Medal of Honor Memorial in 2013, courtesy City of East Lansing

About forty people attended a brief East Lansing ceremony honoring local living and deceased U.S. military veterans yesterday. The event took place just outside the Hannah Community Center, near a recently-constructed Medal of Honor memorial honoring the late 2^nd Lt. Sherrod E. Skinner.

Skinner grew up in East Lansing and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor after he was killed in the Korean War. According to the City website, “On the night of October 26, 1952, 2^nd Lt. Skinner’s observation post was subjected to a sudden and fervent attack by enemy forces. During the attack, 2^nd Lt. Skinner organized and directed surviving personnel in the defense of the outpost and left the protection of his bunker on more than one occasion to direct machine gun fire at the enemy forces and replenish depleted ammunition supplies.”

Although “Skinner was wounded each time he left the bunker…he steadfastly refused aid until his men received medical attention. In the end, 2^nd Lt. Skinner threw himself on an enemy grenade in an effort to protect his surviving comrades, absorbing the full force of the explosion and sacrificing his life.”

Following a partnership by the East Lansing Rotary Club and the City of East Lansing to create a memorial to Skinner, the monument to him was dedicated in 2013 at the Hannah Community Center.

Yesterday’s ceremony was led by East Lansing Police Department (ELPD) Detective Sergeant Andy Bouck, who is a Marine Corps veteran. He read a statement from the Commandant of the Marine Corps, Robert Neller, a 1971 graduate of East Lansing High School who is now the highest ranking officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.

ELPD’s Heidi Williams played the bugle at the ceremony, while Okemos resident Terry Carroll, a veteran of the Air Force, played the bagpipes. Carroll told me he served in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The flag ceremony was conducted by ELPD Officer Matthew Swab, a veteran of the U.S. Navy, and ELPD Officer Jeremy Hamilton, a senior airman in the U.S. Air National Guard.

Bouck asked other members of City staff who were veterans to identify themselves. Ron Springer, formerly of the East Lansing Planning Department, identified himself as an Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam.

Bouck told those gathered that we honor veterans because, “without them, there would be no Land of the Free.” He said the event was aimed at acknowledging “the guardians and warriors who have defended our democracy and freedom.” A reception was held afterwards inside the community center.

Photo below courtesy City of East Lanisng