Laurel Manor Banquet and Conference Center 6.28.09

When it comes to his World War II experiences, John D. Dingell considers himself, “A very lucky guy.”

As such, the 15th District Congressman was proud to be a part of the massive, June 28th signing of the group photo of World War II veterans taken at Willow Run airport on May 28th with the Yankee Air Museum’s fully-restored B-17 Flying Fortress airplane as a backdrop.

Over three hundred participating vets lined up with Congressman Dingell at the Laurel Manor in Livonia to sign the poster-sized photograph which is intended to be presented to President Obama during his trip to Michigan in mid-July.  The intention is that this photograph will return to Washington DC with President Obama and there be displayed on behalf of Michigan’s World War II vets and as representation of Detroit’s contribution to the war effort as ‘The Arsenal of Democracy’.

The signing, like the photograph session, will be featured prominently in the Visionalist Entertainment production ‘Detroit: Our Greatest Generation’, a documentary set to air in December, 2009 on WDIV-TV.

Hosted by Visionalist Entertainment Productions, the Yankee Air Museum and The Fallen and Wounded Soldiers Fund, the keynote speaker at Sunday’s White House Photo Signing event was Attorney General Mike Cox who expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the heroic men and women who fought in the most significant conflict of the twentieth century.  He attributed our modern lifestyle to the sacrifices made by these brave soldiers.

Among those singled out for special notice at the signing was Corporal Joseph Rosenbergh, who served with 42nd Rainbow Division from 1943 to 1945 and who passed away several days after the May 28th photograph was taken.  Signing in his place was his son, firefighter Joe Rosenbergh Jr., who said, “It’s my duty to be here for him—a sense of duty was something that Dad always instilled in us.”

The Laurel Manor signing event drew so many participants from the initial photography session that they could not all be accommodated in a single afternoon.  Therefore, a second and third signing event has been arranged for Wednesday, July 1st at the Beck Business Center in Wixom from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Thursday, July 2nd at the Andiamo Banquet Center in Warren from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.