Service & Sacrifice

‘Service & Sacrifice: War through the eyes of U.P. veterans’ aims to highlight experiences of local veterans

Special section with articles released today, accompanying videos to be online Veterans Day

MARQUETTE — Local veterans have served our nation and sacrificed much over the years in an effort to ensure freedom at home and abroad. Some veterans have faced battles and injuries. Some have endured imprisonment at the hands of enemy forces. Some have rescued and cared for fellow service members. Some have wondered if they will ever make it home to see their families. But all have dedicated themselves to selfless service in the name of our nation.

To honor these veterans’ legacies and sacrifices as Veterans Day approaches, The Mining Journal is unveiling a series of videos and accompanying articles that feature local veterans’ stories of their wartime experiences.

“Cecilia Brown, city editor, has put countless hours into this project and we hope that it will bring the depth of the veterans’ experiences to our readers,” said Mining Journal Publisher Ann Troutman. “What an honor it has been to share their stories.”

The series of articles, titled “Service & Sacrifice: War through the eyes of U.P. veterans,” is featured in print today with a special section accompanying this edition of the Journal.

The special video features accompanying each article online allow local veterans to share their stories in their own words. The videos provide a platform for veteran-centered, veteran-led storytelling that captures the essence of each person, their service and sacrifice. They feature footage of the veteran recounting their experience, as well as personal photos, maps and historical images to help viewers envision the people, places and events that the veterans discuss.

These videos will be available to view at www.miningjournal.net starting on Veterans Day.

All online content associated with this project — videos and articles — will be freely available and accessible to non-subscribers and subscribers alike.

The veterans featured in the videos and articles are:

≤ Wilho Ritola, WWII, U.S. Army veteran

≤ Willis Remus, Korean War, U.S. Army veteran

≤ Jim Hein, Korean War, U.S. Army veteran

≤ Dennis Grall, Vietnam War, U.S. Marine Corps veteran

≤ Bob Bannan, Vietnam War, U.S. Marine Corps veteran

≤ Lorrie Robinson, Gulf War, U.S. Army veteran

≤ Dan Atkins, Iraq War, Michigan Army National Guard veteran

While each veteran and each story are different, they are unified by their courage, selflessness, tenacity and empathy during the most difficult — and most critical — of times in our nation’s history and in their personal lives. These stories are personal perspectives on major events in history and serve as a chronicle of the human condition amid war. They reveal moments of terror and heartbreak; but also moments of pride, hope and joy.

In essence, these videos and articles aim to help readers see war through the eyes of U.P.veterans while preserving their legacies so their sacrifices are never forgotten.

We hope you will join us in saluting these veterans on Veterans Day and every day.