This year’s Dawn Patrol, put on by the
Fowlerville Rotary Club at the Maple Grove Airfield, will be on Sunday, Sept.
11—the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 Attack on the World Trade Center
in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
To commemorate this anniversary, the Dawn
Patrol will feature the Michigan Vietnam Veterans Traveling Memorial Wall.
Dennis Bowdoin, owner of the Helicopter Air
Specialty Service that is headquartered at the airfield and who is overseeing
this special attraction, noted that the Wall will arrive sometime in the
afternoon on Saturday, Sept. 10.
“Ron Savage, the Fox 2 News anchor and a
Fowlerville High alumnus, has arranged for the Rolling Thunder motorcycle group
to escort the Memorial Wall as it passes through Fowlerville and out here for
the setup,” he said. “The last time I saw the Memorial Wall escorted, it was
with 500 motorcycles in the front and 500 motorcycles in the back. I’m told
that the Wall often brings an extra 2,500 to 3,000 people to each event it
appears at above the normal attendance. Also many thanks to Fowlerville Farms
for sponsoring the extra large tent that will house the Memorial Wall.”
On Sunday, Sept 11, the Wall will open at 7
a.m., at the same time that the Rotary
all-you-can-eat breakfast begins. Cost for the breakfast is $8 for adults, $5
for kids ages five to 12, and free for kids four and under. The breakfast is
served until 12 noon “rain or shine.”
“In addition to the breakfast and the Wall,
we will have an assortment of military trucks and vehicles,” noted Bowdoin. “Also
committed this year will be a group called War Dogs. This is a group that is building
a cemetery for former Service Dogs, including Military War dogs, Police dogs,
Homeland Security dogs, CIA dogs, and FBI dogs. They do a full military burial
service for the retired and active dogs that have died. Several dogs will be
here, with at least two of them still working and one retired dog.”
At 8 a.m., morning DJ “Banana Don Jefferson”
for WITL Radio will start broadcasting live from 8 to 10 a.m. The Michigan
Helicopter Association will be sponsoring this broadcast.
At
about 10:00 a.m. Bowdoin and associates will be doing the Rotary Golf Ball Drop
with the winner taking home $1,000. There are other cash prizes for second,
third, fourth and fifth places. The U of M Survival Flight is scheduled to be here
with their helicopter as well, and the Michigan Helicopter Association members
will be flying in. An appearance by the Capitol City Skydivers is also on the
schedule.
Camping is allowed at the airfield on Friday
and Saturday nights.
Other sponsors include Maplegrove Farms,
Champion Chevrolet, Dick Scott Motor Mall, Walmart and Baymont Inn.
The Dawn
Patrol is held at the property of Jack and Lucy Sherwood. This is the 66th
year that Dawn Patrol has been held in Fowlerville
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