TRAVERSE CITY -- Billed as the "last lasting tribute," a proposed statewide gathering of World War II veterans this spring will be the first of its kind in the nation.
Scheduled for Traverse City at a location still being finalized, organizers believe the May 31-June 1 gathering will draw around 1,200 veterans and family members. With any Michigan veteran from any unit or branch of service who served during World War II welcome to attend, those numbers may climb.
"We're the only state in the union that will have thought about having an all-state reunion," said Dell Corner of Traverse City, a World War II veteran spearheading the event. "Reunions get together only a unit but they don't talk about the war -- if you cross services and branches it becomes a different thing."
Pulling off a two-day party featuring author Doug Stanton as a keynote speaker, a 30-piece big band, a tap dance troupe composed of veterans' daughters and granddaughters is right up Corner's organizational alley. Veterans will also be able to share oral histories and artifacts with the Veteran's History Project for preservation in the National Archives.
In 2007, Corner threw an all-northern Michigan reunion in Traverse City that drew 400 people. Three years earlier, serving as a field rep for the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., Corner filled five buses -- in just five days -- with veterans who attended the dedication.
For the 2008 statewide gathering, Corner and two other volunteers formed the nonprofit Northern Michigan World War II Veterans organization. Their sense of urgency stems from numbers: although a 2000 census counted 186,510 World War II veterans in Michigan, these men and women in their 80s and 90s are dying at an estimated rate of 1,000 to 1,200 each day.
The time has come to gather survivors together, said Corner, who is reaching out to citizens, the media, veteran's organizations and any other interested individual to help make it happen.
"This is just something that no one had done," said Corner of the all-state reunion. "It's a rare opportunity and if you miss this opportunity it's gone forever -- it's our last chance to say, 'Thank you,' and we owe them everything."
In addition to getting the word out to Michigan veterans, Corner is also seeking donations from individuals, groups, organizations, corporations, associations and foundations to help defray the cost. A tentative budget for the entire event is $200,000 to $250,000 to cover food and lodging for attendees from around the state, plus other expenses.
"I hope people feel as I do: that it's worthwhile to make contributions to make this last get-together possible and successful," said Corner.
Count Joe Verschaeve as a believer -- and volunteer. He brought his dad, a World War II combat veteran, and mom to the 2007 all-northern Michigan reunion and said it was "magic."
"I watched my parents become young again," said Verschaeve, an affiliated professor of sociology at Grand Valley State University. "I'm doing this for people like my dad and Dell."
Representatives of the Veteran's History Project will be on hand to gather personal narratives, letters, photographs and other items from attendees.
"As a researcher, it's like taking a snow scene and turning it the other way -- to get the history from the guy on the ground is really different," said Verschaeve. "The most heart-rending stories we collect are the homecoming stories. There's some emotions, people shed tears, but it is more a celebration for some but others receive a lot of respect from the community."
Contributions to the Northern Michigan World War II Veterans may be sent in care of the Traverse City State Bank, 310 West Front St., Traverse City, MI 49684. For more information about the nonprofit organization and the gathering, contact Dell Corner at 947-8438.
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