Stories of hometown heroes told during Bowne Township’s Memorial Day observance
“Fallen soldiers are not abstract or far-off fairy tales. They are real hometown heroes,” said Lyons, as she spoke to a crowd that had gathered at Bowne Township Cemetery, on Monday evening, to mark the somber holiday.
Jayson Bussa - Contributing Writer
8 June 2025
As she delivered Memorial Day remarks, Lisa Posthumus Lyons said that American citizens must be careful not to let the stories of the country’s bravest heroes become legends and folklore.
“Fallen soldiers are not abstract or far-off fairy tales. They are real hometown heroes,” said Lyons, as she spoke to a crowd that had gathered at Bowne Township Cemetery, on Monday evening, to mark the somber holiday.
Lyons is a lifelong resident of Alto and currently serves as the clerk for Kent County. But, she was not focused on any of her political achievements in this speech. Instead, she highlighted the stories of some of the fallen veterans who were laid to rest in the very cemetery that the crowd was standing in.
She made mention of five different local heroes, highlighting their stories, to drive home the point that these were actual people and not characters from a fictional story.
She began with Gerald J. Ellis, a 1938 graduate of Lowell High School who served as a Navy Gunner’s Mate. In the hours following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Ellis lost his life when the Japanese invaded the Philippines, where he was stationed. There, he was injured and eventually lost his life on Dec. 7, 1941 at the age of 21.
The Lowell Ledger at that time billed Ellis as “the first Lowell boy to die in World War 2.” Ellis, like the others, is laid to rest at the Bowne Township Cemetery.
Lyons spoke about John White, who lost his life fighting for the 21st Michigan Infantry B Company in the Civil War. White and his fellow soldiers fought in the Battle of Perryville in 1862, which was an especially bloody battle in Kentucky. He was mortally wounded in the fight.
Another was Winfred Wallace Alexander, who served in the 14th Infantry Division, known as the Wolverine Division, of World War I. He did not die on the battlefield, though. Lyons spoke about how Alexander was stationed in Camp Custer (Battle Creek) with tens of thousands of other troops. While training there, an epidemic made its way through the camp and Alexander was one of over 600 soldiers to die of pneumonia.
Lorenzo D. Truax had a similar story, during his service with the 6th Regiment, Michigan Cavalry during the Civil War. His regiment was tasked with, amongst other things, patrolling the Potomac. They clashed with Confederate soldiers but Truax eventually lost his life at the age of 40, due to illness.
Finally, Lyons highlighted the service of George Washington Miller, a New York native, who eventually settled with his family in Bowne Township, where he worked on a farm and went to school. He enthusiastically responded to Abraham Lincoln’s call to “put down the rebellion,” as he is said to have walked from Bowne Township to Grand Rapids to register with Company A of the Third Michigan Infantry Regiment.
He was reported missing during the Battle of Fair Oaks in Virginia, in 1862, and was later listed as killed. His body was never recovered, perishing at the age of 18.
Lyons brought all these stories alive as the ceremony also included the performance of “Taps,” a laying of a wreath on the veteran’s memorial and “God Bless America,” sung by the junior auxiliary members.
“We must remember by holding the fallen close to our hearts, not just today, but every day,” Lyons said. “Honor every day by living out the ideals they died for — the ideals of America.”
