By John Lindstrom
Publisher
Posted: November 13, 2014 3:52 PM

The Capitol rotunda was crowded Thursday afternoon with veterans of World War II and their families, and Governor Rick Snyder used the occasion to recall how the global conflict touched the lives of every family.

The event was organized by MLive media, which has had a special project throughout the year of documenting the state’s veterans. More than 600,000 men and women from Michigan served in the U.S. military during the war. More than 10,000 were killed. And of the remaining, just some 39,000 are still with the state.

Since the youngest World War II veteran would now be in his or her mid-80s, a number of the guests – who sported hats and t-shirts indicating their branch of service, with one hat identifying the survivor of a kamikaze attack – were in wheelchairs or using walkers and canes.

Mr. Snyder, of course, was born more than a decade after the war ended. But his older sister was about seven at the time the allies were finally victorious.

He said his family had come to visit his grandparents, who were living in Lansing.

There was a knock at the door and his sister answered it.

The cousin, home from the war, was standing at the door. Mr. Snyder told the crowd that his sister recognized their cousin, but called to her mother and grandmother.

When the two ladies arrived at the door they let out a scream, Mr. Snyder said. That may have seemed odd, but it wasn’t, he said.

Because the family had been told their cousin was missing in action. In fact, he had been captured and was being held in a prisoner of war camp in North Africa, Mr. Snyder.

Records of prisoners were notoriously bad during the war, with many captured servicemen never allowed to let their families know where they were.

So when the war ended, and the cousin was reunited with U.S. forces and then returned home, his parents were no longer in their old house. The cousin had then gone to Mr. Snyder’s grandparents’ house because he didn’t know where his parents were, he said.

And it reminded the crowd of how the war touched everyone, from the ration cards each family had to wondering if someone would come home. There are 39,000 veterans in Michigan who did come home from the carnage that encircled the globe.