Michigan National Guard hosts ‘Honor the Fallen’ tribute event at the State Capitol

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - People gathered at the Michigan State Capitol Sunday to remember the 7,054 service members who died since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

The Capitol was “The Task Force Tribute” first stop as it drives one mile for each veteran who died in the line of duty over the last 20 years.

Major General Paul Rogers joined the Army in 1987. He directs more than 10,000 soldiers in the Michigan National Guard. He said this is about giving a voice to the soldiers and their families.

“I think a living legacy, or a living history that adds the personal touch to it, quite often we recognize a conflict or the service in general, but these are people,” said Major General Rogers. “These are people who are living normal lives, everyday lives.”

Project Relo is organizing the Task Force Tribute’s journey. Christian Anschuetz is the co-founder and said the collection of the stories would be turned into a virtual memorial, but it is still in the planning phase.

“The combination of building the relationships between them so that we can get a full 360-degree view of a perspective around an incident or a battle or “whatever,” then how it’s visualized,” said Anschuetz.

Project RELO is a non-profit veteran advocacy group that has helped transform the perspective on the value of veterans within the civilian workforce. Project RELO alums will travel from Lansing to Seattle and back across the country on another route, ending in Washington, D.C. on September 11.

If you would like to follow the journey, you can do it on the Task Force Tribute website.

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