By: Sarah Wright | Troy Times | Published November 13, 2024
TROY — The city of Troy hosted its annual Troy Veterans Day Ceremony at Troy Veterans Plaza, in front of City Hall, to honor and remember the service of all United States military veterans.
The ceremony took place at 11 a.m. Nov. 11 and included the raising of colors by the Troy Police Department Honor Guard, musical performances from the Heritage Concert Band of Troy, and the laying of the memorial wreath at the Veterans Monument, as well as some words about Veterans Day from city officials and service members.
“We’re here to celebrate and appreciate all of our veterans, no matter when they served or how long they served, with the mere fact that they served and did something to protect our freedoms and democracy here in this country, which we all value so, so very much,” Mayor Baker said. “I also want to take this moment to recognize something we did earlier this year in the city of Troy. We declared the city of Troy to be a Purple Heart City, and some of you may have seen it already, but back in the back, our City Attorney (Lori Grigg) Bluhm helped put in a monument in here in our Veterans Plaza that declares this a Purple Heart City here in the city of Troy, Michigan. So I want to commend all those that made that happen.”
The keynote speaker for the event was U.S. Air Force Maj. Stephen Klenke.
“Veterans Day is a day of gratitude, celebration and recognition, and if I could, I would like to take a moment to focus on gratitude, but maybe not in the way that you’re thinking,” Klenke said. “There have been many highs and lows. There have been good times and bad times, but through it all I have been blessed. I am blessed in the Michigan Air National Guard where I can wear this uniform, answer this country in a place that I call home.”
Klenke received his commission from the U.S. Air Force Academy after graduating as the top civil engineering cadet in the Class of 2007. His first duty station was Peterson Air Force Base, in Colorado, as part of the 21 civil engineering cadets, where he served as the Simplified Acquisition of Base Engineer Requirement chief and was deployed to Afghanistan twice. His first deployment was to Jalalabad as part of a provincial reconstruction team, and his second deployment was to Kandahar as part of the 777th Expeditionary Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force Squadron.
“When people learn that I served in Afghanistan twice, sometimes they ask me, ‘What was it like?’” Klenke said. “And I think they’re surprised to hear that part of my job on the provincial reconstruction team was to build roads, schools and water wells for the local people of Afghanistan. They’re surprised to hear that we hired local contractors to build facilities and infrastructure that the local community needed.
“It was an amazing mission, but it was a dangerous mission. Traveling to the different sites to meet with the local elders and inspect construction projects was very hazardous, and of our team of about 100 men and women, four did not return home.”
After his assignment at Peterson, Klenke was selected to attend the University of Michigan to pursue his master’s in structural engineering. He then taught at the U.S. Air Force Academy as an assistant professor of civil engineering for three years.
Upon separating from active duty in the summer of 2016, Klenke joined the 127 Civilian Education System in the Michigan Air National Guard at Selfridge Air National Guard Base and served as a drill status guardsmen for approximately three years while working full time in the private sector as a structural engineer for Tetra Tech. Klenke later joined the 127 CES as the full time deputy base civil engineer in 2019 and, under this role, has been deployed to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, as the chief of engineering for the 577th Prime BEEF Squadron, where he led 30 engineers in the completion of 28 projects throughout seven countries. In 2023, he was selected for his current role as the Selfridge base civil engineer.
“I am certainly grateful to be with you here today to honor all the veterans who have come before us, who stand beside us, and who will come after us,” Klenke said. “To the veterans here today: we thank you. Your service and sacrifice represents the best among us and the best America has to offer. We salute you and we appreciate the great cost that often comes with serving.”
U.S. Retired Navy Lt. Todd R. Wodzinski, the commander of VFW Post 4037, read “I Am The Flag,” by Howard Schnauber, with musical backing from the Heritage Concert Band.
Troy Police Chaplain Bob Cornwall provided the invocation and benediction during the event.
The public was invited to bring individual flowers, bouquets, small flags and other appropriate mementos to be placed on the Walk of Honor or at the base of the Veterans Memorial in honor of a loved one or all veterans.