A dedication ceremony for the Hubbell veteran memorial wall to be held on Memorial Day. The wall will honor veterans from Hubbell, Tamarack City, and Torch Lake Township, with funding for the project being made possible by donors.

HUBBELL, Mich. (WLUC) - Across from the VFW Copper Ingot Post 4624 building in Hubbell, a new veterans memorial wall is nearly finished.

The wall will honor veterans from Hubbell, Tamarack City, and Torch Lake Township.

A dedication ceremony is planned on Memorial Day to celebrate its completion.

“We’re going to have some guest speakers here to help us remember these people,” said Hubbell Honor Roll Memorial Committee Member Charlie Mattson. “Greg Markannen is the primary speaker, and then our township supervisor, Brian Cadwell, will say a few words, and I guess I’ll be MCing it along the way.”

The memorial has been a work in progress for nearly three years by the Hubbell Honor Roll Memorial Committee.

“The last memorial they had was lost in the late 60′s, somewhere around there,” said Committee Member Carl Deiro. “And it seemed like every generation so far has been talking and talking, and finally Charlie and I said ‘We’re going to get it done’. Everybody is getting older, not younger.”

Funding for the memorial was made possible by donors, some of whom purchased paving bricks for the project.

Over 280 purchases have been made, and more can still be purchased. That money will support the memorial’s upkeep.

The committee stresses how important it is to preserve and honor the memory of those who served.

“These are our fathers and mothers, and grandfathers and neighbors, and a lot of people don’t remember their names,” added Mattson. “They just didn’t talk about that stuff then. They’re all gone now. So if we don’t do this now, the history will be gone forever. And we don’t want that to happen.”

At the ceremony, additional veteran names can also be added to the wall.

The ceremony will begin at 1 p.m.

Following the ceremony, hot dogs and drinks will be served at the VFW Post 4624 building.

If you are interested in purchasing a paving brick, speak to either Mattson or Deiro at the ceremony, or contact them.

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