Public Dedication Ceremony Saturday At Airport For Local War Hero
By Beth Milligan | Aug. 26, 2017
A public dedication ceremony and unveiling of a bronze plaque honoring a Traverse City war hero will take place at Cherry Capital Airport Saturday (August 26) at 1:30pm.
The ceremony and plaque will honor Colonel Demas T. "Nick" Craw, born in 1900 in Long Lake Township. Craw attended Traverse City Central High School before enlisting for World War I in 1918. Upon completing his service in World War I, Craw applied and was accepted to West Point as a cadet, where he graduated and went on to serve in World War II as a decorated colonel. In November 1942, Craw volunteered to go on a dangerous mission behind enemy lines to deliver a message to a French commander in French Morocco in order to broker a ceasefire and the surrender of French forces. Craw was killed by machine-gun fire while in hostile territory. His partner, however, was able to complete their mission and eventually arranged the surrender of French forces.
In addition to numerous commendations for his career of service - including WWI and WWII Victory Medals and the Purple Heart - Craw was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1943 for his actions in French Morocco.
Thanks to the efforts of Grand Traverse County Commissioner Dan Lathrop and local veteran Ret. Lt. Col. Terry Hawn, the Traverse City Veterans Affairs Clinic will be renamed the Demas T. Craw VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic this year. The clinic provides healthcare services for thousands of Northern Michigan veterans every year. A bronze plaque honoring Craw set to be unveiled at Saturday's ceremony will also be displayed in the Cherry Capital Airport terminal.
Nicholas W. Craw, the son of Colonel Demas T. Craw, will be an honored guest and speaker at the ceremony, arriving by jet prior to the public dedication. Upon arrival, the jet will be greeted with a fire station salute of arched water presented by the Traverse City Fire Department. County Commissioner Bob Johnson wil be the master of ceremonies for the event, which will feature an invocation by Lathrop, music by David Lake, and the national anthem by Jenna Elsenheimer. Other featured speakers include Major General Brian Bishop, Lieutenant General Congressman Jack Bergman, and Dr. Ginny Creasman of The Demas T. Craw Community Based Outpatient Clinic.
