Tri-City Sun

John Ryder, executive director of the Michigan Heroes Museum in Frankenmuth, spoke on the "The Frank Beckmann Show" about how the museum has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and what changes it has brought about.

Right now, the museum is doing a tribute to heroes who have served the country over the years, specifically Michigan women and men. One story is of Sgt. Major Ken Rice, who passed away earlier this year. 

"This gentleman here was a China Marine early in the war; he was over helping advise the Chinese on how to beat back the Japanese," Ryder said on the radio show. "And then after Pearl Harbor happened, he got pulled back to the Philippines. And there he was caught up in the Bataan Death March, which for guys like Ken, was ten days of marching, not just during the day, it was 24 hours a day. Fifty minutes of every hour. And he said that, during those 10 minutes that he got off every hour, he could take a nap, but he better be awake. Otherwise the trucks would run him over or whatever. He could decide to find a grasshopper, caterpillar to eat, or a mud puddle to drink out of. But that's what they got."

John Ryder | Executive Director of Michigan Heroes Museum

One day, Rice was put on a Japanese ship to go back to Japan for slave labor. This same ship was attacked by an American submarine, which caused Rice to nearly drown. Afterwards, he was sent to work six days a week in Dutch prisons, working in coal mines or laboring on the docks. 

"And the day that they dropped the second atomic bomb, he happened to be in the mine and they had no idea that it had happened. But three days later, the Dutch prisoners still hadn't come to relieve them," Ryder told Beckmann. "Nobody wanted to go out and ask what the deal was because they were afraid of getting shot for insubordination. So they kept up their quota and everything down in the mine. After three days, that diesel generator that they were running to pipe the air down, the fresh air had stopped days earlier. And these guys were starting to suffocate and getting really tired really quick. And so they drew straws to see who was going to go up and find out what had happened and where their relief was."

That was when they found out an atomic bomb had dropped.

The museum is showcasing many fascinating stories like Rice's by honoring soldiers in cabinets throughout the museum, such as the Pearl Harbor Cabinet 19 and the Sea Wake Island Cabinet 21. Each cabinet showcases two heroes from World War II. 

"Unbelievable stories," Beckmann said to Ryder. "What our men and women in the service did back then, we have them to thank for what we have today in America. That's the bottom line. And you just can't thank them enough. And they are saluted at the Michigan Heroes Museum. I just can't urge everybody enough to get out and see these stories, read them, soak them up. You're gonna cry, you're gonna laugh, you're gonna sing. You're going to have all these different emotions."