Michigan City Mayor Angie Nelson Deuitch is reviving the Homeland Patriot Medal, a local recognition for military service members and veterans that had become inactive, and announced a free Veterans Day breakfast to mark Homeland Patriots Day.
Former Mayor Charles E. Oberlie established the medal in 2005 to recognize qualifying personnel with ties to Michigan City who served in hazardous-duty or combat-related operations beginning Sept. 11, 2001. The original proclamation and medal specifications were preserved, allowing the city to restore the program more than two decades later.
The mayor's office has partnered with a local company to recreate the original medal and has set up an online nomination process on the city's website. Eligibility focuses on personnel who received Hostile Fire Pay or Imminent Danger Pay and have a qualifying historical connection to Michigan City. Posthumous nominations are welcome, and the Michigan City Veterans Commission is expected to help review and verify nominations.
The free breakfast for U.S. military veterans will be held Wednesday, Nov. 11, from 7 to 9 a.m. at the Wall Gang facility, 911 Chicago Street, in Michigan City. Oberlie first proclaimed Homeland Patriots Day on Nov. 11, 2005, to mark the medal's first presentation.
Residents can nominate a qualifying veteran or service member, or apply themselves, through the city's online form. More information is available from the mayor's office at 219-873-1400.
