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

