CEAC-2022-05-May
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American Street Guide<br />
‘We Fought for Liberty:’ Michigan<br />
WWII Vets Welcome Memorial<br />
By Mike Householder | Associated Press<br />
ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) — Officials in Michigan are getting<br />
started on the construction of what they say is one of the<br />
few state-specific World War II memorials in the country.<br />
Art Fishman is excited that the project is taking another step<br />
toward reality.<br />
The Oak Park resident, who sailed on a Navy destroyer in the<br />
Pacific theater as an 18-year-old, was among more than a<br />
dozen World War II veterans on hand on a Thursday afternoon<br />
when ground was broken for The Michigan WWII Legacy<br />
Memorial.<br />
“It’s more important than people think,” said Fishman, 95,<br />
who sailed aboard the USS Robinson in 1945 during its stops<br />
in the Philippines, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and China. “Why? Because,<br />
if it’s handled right, it will teach the next generation<br />
what the war was about, why we were there, what did we<br />
fight for. We fought for liberty.”<br />
The groundbreaking is for the first phase of the memorial,<br />
which includes the laying of more than 1,200 donated Walk<br />
of Honor paver bricks and the installation of both a statue<br />
called “Joe,” which depicts a soldier in a foxhole reading<br />
a letter from home, and flagpoles representing all military<br />
branches.<br />
Future phases are to feature a Wall of Stars honoring the<br />
World War II veteran Art Fishman shows some of his memorabilia, Monday, April 4, <strong>2022</strong>, in Oak Park, Mich. Fishman’s dream of a Michigan state World<br />
War II memorial recently took its first major step toward reality. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)<br />
66 | Chief Engineer
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