never heard of the elite Army unit,
which is credited with supplying 60%
of the intelligence gathered in Europe
during WWII.
“He was my first Ritchie Boy,”
Henderson said. “He started me on a
three-year journey to write Sons and
Soldiers, the untold story of the Jews
who escaped the Nazis and returned
with the U.S. Army to fight Hitler.”
Henderson yearned to know more
and with that Stern invited him to
come to Michigan from California. He
took him up on it. “I thought I would
stay for a couple of days. I stayed for
a week.”
It was through Stern that Henderson
met fellow Ritchie Boy Dr. Victor
Brombert, now a retired professor of
romance languages and literature at
Princeton University.
In one of the most memorable
moments of the day’s festivities,
100-year Brombert appeared in a
moving and endearing video tribute.
He concluded his remarks with an
emotional goodbye to his loving
comrade that pulled at the heartstrings
of all in attendance. “Guy was a life
force,” said Brombert. “I salute you,
Ritchie Boy. I salute you.”
Brig. Gen. Don Schenk (U.S. Army,
Retired), Commander of the 2nd Lt.
Raymond Zussman Post 135 of the
JWV-MI, to which Stern belonged,
spoke on behalf of his membership.
Schenk recalled that he was
compelled to learn anything and
everything about Guy from the
moment he met him. “I was hooked
and hooked on his life, and I had to
learn more about it.”
The two would develop a strong and
cherished friendship. It was Schenk
who would be a featured speaker in
January 2023 at the dedication of the
Guy Stern Welcome Center at the Lt.
Col. Charles S. Kettles VA Medical
Center in Ann Arbor.
“I think it’s only fitting that I
share in conclusion,” said Schenk,
“some very prescient remarks that
Dr. Isaiah “Ike” McKinnon, former
Detroit Police chief and deputy mayor
under Mike Duggan, considered Guy
Stern his hero. While watching the
Stern tribute at The HC, I received a
text from Ike. I broke with proper eti-
quette and looked at his text.
The text read: “This memorial cer-
emony for Guy Stern is absolutely
incredible.”
Ike had been streaming the program
from home.
He will forever remember meeting
Guy, then 99, for the first time. He had
learned of his amazing life story when
he was featured on 60 Minutes on
May 9, 2021. In a subsequent phone
call, Ike said “I just have to meet him!”
That meeting took place in a con-
ference room at The HC in July 2021.
I later wrote in the July 15 edition of
the JN that I was privileged to be a
bystander to a wonderful conversation
between two pillars of our community.
The two shared a history of unimag-
inable intolerance and incredible
perseverance that dated back to their
youth. They formed an instant bond.
That October, Ike would be pleas-
antly surprised and humbled by a text
he received from Guy after he (Ike)
was presented with the Neal Shine
Award during the 2021 Shining Light
Award presentations by the Detroit
Free Press and the Metropolitan Affairs
Coalition. The honor was bestowed
upon McKinnon for his five decades of
exemplary regional leadership.
Guy’s correspondence to Ike read:
“Hello from Guy Stern. Dear Ike,
just watched the impressive Shining
Light Awards Virtual Ceremony. It
showed your numerous and varied
accomplishments throughout your
life. In my note-taking, I tried to find a
word summarizing your good deeds.
What should it be? Bridge builder?
Humanist? Civic leader? Family man?
Showing your care and concern
wherever you could? It is, of course,
all of these. I was touched and hon-
ored by the words you devoted to
me. In the time that is still given to
me, I shall try to live up to the high
opinion you shared with the public.
Congratulations, my new friend, upon
an award that more than befits you.
Cordially, Guy.”
After the March 10 tribute to Guy, I
called Ike to share our thoughts about
what we had just witnessed. “I only
knew him for a brief period of time,”
Ike said. “I was able to read his book.
I was able to see him on television. I
was able to have an extended conver-
sation with him. And as God gave him
to the world for more than 100 years,
and just the brief time that I got to
know him, I knew that he would touch
my life for the rest of my life and each
day, but (his voice cracking), I think
about him the same way I did about
my father. The same way I did about
Nelson Mandela, who I shared person-
al time with during his visit to Detroit in
1990. I thought of these amazing men
in my life and the impact they had on
the world, and they will never be for-
gotten.
Guy Stern and Ike
McKinnon meet at
The HC in 2021.
continued on page 36
PHOTOS: JERRY ZOLYNSKY
Video of Guy Stern
plays inside newly
renovated exhibit
at The HC.
Guy Stern – The Hero
APRIL 11 • 2024 | 35