Royal Oak salutes fallen vets with Memorial Day parade, ceremony

ROYAL OAK — On Monday, May 30, the city of Royal Oak hosted its first Memorial Day ceremony in Centennial Commons, the city’s new downtown park, with a Field of Honor — 7-foot-tall flags for all 188 Royal Oak residents listed on the veterans memorial — and a special guest speaker.

The ceremony was preceded by a parade. The route did not follow Main Street this year due to road construction.

David Wandoff, chair of the Royal Oak Veterans Events Committee and a military veteran, said the number of participants in the parade was greater than years past, with 56 groups and nearly 500 individuals. Groups included the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Michigan World War II Legacy Memorial, the Royal Oak High School Band and numerous Scouting troops.

The grand marshal this year was Royal Oak police officer Anthony Carter, a 2013 Royal Oak High School graduate and son of Lt. Al Carter, of the Royal Oak Police Department.

Anthony Carter is a technical sergeant with the U.S. Air Force and served on active duty for five years; he was stationed in Germany for four years and Texas for one year. He was deployed to Turkey during the coup in 2016 and returned from Qatar during the Afghanistan evacuation. He has been in the Air National Guard for three years and is currently stationed at Selfridge Air National Guard Base.

The guest speaker at the ceremony was Therese Christman, 95, of Royal Oak. Despite being a lifelong resident of the city, Christman first learned the name of her sister-in-law, Marie Michell, was on the memorial — the only woman — on April 1, 2022. Christman’s brother, Lloyd Firman Clawson, is also noted on the memorial. Both Michell and Clawson lost their lives during World War II.

“One of the five names (we could not find information for) was Rarie N Michell,” Royal Oak Community Engagement Specialist Judy Davids said. “For decades, it was assumed Rarie was a man. We posted something on Facebook and a reader replied Rarie might actually be Marie. The reader was correct.”

Christman finished writing a book that her daughter, who died of cancer, began about Michell called “Marie Michell Robinson: A Soaring Pioneer.” In the book, she details how Michell took lessons to become a pilot, joined the Women Airforce Service Pilots and died at the age of 20.

“I think (being the guest speaker at the Memorial Day ceremony) is an honor because I love Royal Oak, and I have loved Royal Oak from the day I was born,” she said.

Davids said she was especially excited for the Field of Honor this year because city staff took advantage of the free use of ancestry.com with a Royal Oak Public Library card during the height of the pandemic to research each of the names.

She said each flag had the name of a veteran listed on the city’s memorial attached to it, and the public can visit romi.gov/1682/Royal-Oak-War-Memorial-Database to learn background information about them, as well as where they are buried, including Italy and the Philippines.

“We created a map that shows where they all lived. If you live south of 12 Mile Road, there’s a very good chance that somebody in your neighborhood made the ultimate sacrifice,” Davids said. “We included as much information as we could, including pictures, draft cards and newspaper clippings.”

Wandoff said Henry Ford Health System donated the flags, and the city invited the public to sponsor a flag for $30. The flag sponsorships included the donor’s name, and the money raised will benefit the beautification of the memorial and future events for veterans.

Wandoff said the flags would be in place through June 5.

“During Memorial Day, we honor veterans that served who died in battle or as a result of battle, so obviously that number is much smaller than veterans, or anyone that served in the now five services,” Wandoff said. “It leaves a lasting impact for the family members — a lot of feelings and unresolved what-ifs — so it’s our opportunity to remember them as well.”