126th Army Band

CITIZEN PATRIOT • ASHLEY MILLER
SFC Devin Hahn of the 126th Army Band practices his trombone behind the Cascades Falls
Park band shell before the 126th Army Band of the Michigan National Guard concert
Friday in Jackson. He has been playing since he was 13, he said.

SPC Luke Panning, left, of the 126th Army Band dances with Barb Briggson of
Weidman to "In the Mood" by Glenn Miller during the 126th Army Band of the Michigan
National Guard concert Friday night at the Cascades Falls Park band shell in Jackson.

SPC Brooke Briggson of Kalamazoo takes a nap against the back of the
Cascades Falls Park band shell before the 126th Army Band of the Michigan
National Guard concert Friday in Jackson.

SPC Steven Michanowicz of the 126th Army Band dances to "In the Mood"
by Glenn Miller during the 126th Army Band of the Michigan National Guard
concert Friday night at the Cascades Falls Park band shell in Jackson.

SGT William Karsten of the 126th Army Band plays the tuba in front of the audience
during the 126th Army Band of the Michigan National Guard concert
Friday night at the Cascades Falls Park band shell in Jackson.

Lyle Dotson | A Soldier's Sacrifice

CITIZEN PATRIOT • ASHLEY MILLER
Lyle Dotson of Jackson left high school to serve in the Army
during World War II. He is now devout member of the Pentecostal
Church of God with his wife, Etta.

As Vandercook Lake High School’s Class of 1943 prepared to graduate, Lyle Dotson decided to leave school without a diploma to serve his country in World War II.
“I went home that day and talked to my mother and father and asked, ‘Would you guys co-sign for me to go into the Army?’ ” Dotson said.
When his father asked why, he responded: “To get the war over with.”
Dotson, now an 84-year-old Jackson resident, said that within a month, he was in a train station in Detroit with 48 other soldiers.
Dotson’s unit was stationed in France when he received news the war was over. He spent the remainder of his three years overseas working in the cleanup detail.
“I enjoyed going in. I saw a lot of the country,” Dotson said.
Sixty-two years after Dotson left high school, he was offered a diploma from Vandercook Lake High School. There were 65 graduates, Dotson said, and he was the 66th.
At the graduation ceremony, several female students from Spring Arbor University spelled out his name on white T-shirts.
“I got a standing ovation, and I felt real proud,” Dotson said. “But I had to leave the stadium and go around back because I cried. I felt like the king of the rock.”

Memorial Day Parade

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CITIZEN PATRIOT • ASHLEY MILLER
Staff Sergeant Daniel Barron of Jackson laughs while looking up at the flag
of the United States Marine Corps Monday morning before the
Memorial Day Parade in downtown Jackson.

Dean Dumbauld of Jackson represents the American Legion Post 29
Ritual Team Monday morning in the Memorial Day Parade in downtown Jackson.
Dumbauld is also a World War II veteran.

Sergio Bravo of Wisconsin represents the Marine Corps in the color guard
Monday morning in the Memorial Day Parade in downtown Jackson.

Joe Lorenz, 16, of Grass Lake marches with the Lumen Christi High School
marching band Monday morning in the Memorial Day Parade in downtown Jackson.
"It's nice to honor the veterans who have served our country," he said.