ROSCOMMON, Mich. — Two South Haven firefighters will be honored this weekend at an annual statewide memorial service.
Each year, firefighters and their families meet at the Memorial Wall at the Michigan State Firemen's Association in Roscommon for a service. The memorial features a 12-foot-tall statue of a firefighter rescuing a child and a wall of fallen firefighters' names.
Now, Emil Wessling and Stanley (Stan) Wakild will have their names added to that memorial.
Wessling was an EMT and firefighter for 38 years. He began at the Casco Fire Department before eventually moving to South Haven Area Emergency Services (SHAES). He died in 2010. He was 58.
Wakild served the fire service across six decades. He first joined the South Haven Fire Department in 1965 and worked his way up to chief in 1989. He retired in 1993 and continued to serve as a paid-on-call member. He died in 2020 at 77 years old.
"Service to our community has always been of utmost importance for our members, past and present," said SHAES Executive Director Brandon Hinz. "The years of dedicated service by Emil and Stan represent many sleepless nights, early mornings, missed dinners, interrupted holidays. Honoring them is a small token of our appreciation for their commitment to South Haven."
This year's memorial service will be Saturday, Sept. 21.
