Michigan Heroes Museum

10/23/2026

On this day in 2007 Space Shuttle Discovery’s STS-120 mission launched from Kennedy Space Center carrying Rochester Hills, Michigan native Col. George Zamka (USMC). Col. Zamka served as pilot of this mission, which was the twenty-third mission of the shuttle to the International Space Station (ISS). The primary mission objective of STS-120 was to deliver and install the Harmony Node, and to relocate the P6 Truss segment to its permanent location. This mission also featured the first time there were two female mission commanders in space at the same time: STS-120 Discovery commander Pam Melroy and ISS Expedition 16 commander Peggy Whitson.

Col. Zamka’s uniform, flightsuit, and other donated items are on display at the Michigan Heroes Museum, in Frankenmuth, MI. Honor. Respect. Remember.

10/19/2026

It was a great weekend! We were able to tell Frankenmuth Hero stories to over 200 people! Thank you to Tony and Geri D’Anna, Tom and Mary Johnston, David R. and Carol Johnston, Mike Young Buick GMC, Frankenmuth Credit Union, and GFL for sponsoring our event!!!!

🎖️ HERO NEXT DOOR -- Frankenmuth's Michigan Heroes Museum put faces and stories to those who served, hosting a free weekend event honoring Michigan's military heroes from WWI to today.

10/18/2026

Tune into ABC 12 tonight October 18 to see an interview about Michigan Heroes Museum’s A250 Hero Next Door event!

10/18/2026

On this day in 2019, Grand Rapids native Christina H. Koch participated in the first ever all-female spacewalk. As a bonus, she got to perform this historic event with her Astronaut Selection Class of 2013 classmate and friend Jessica Meir. The replaced the Battery Charge/Discharge Unit on the International Space Station (ISS). By the numbers, this was Jessica’s first spacewalk of her career, the fourth spacewalk of Christina’s career, the 221st spacewalk in support of construction and maintenance of the ISS, and lasted 7 hours and 7 minutes.

You can see Christina’s display in our Astronaut Gallery at the Michigan Heroes Museum in Frankenmuth, MI. Honor. Respect. Remember.

10/17/2026

Join our curator John Auger at Fischer Hall in downtown Frankenmuth today and tomorrow for our FREE Hero Next Door America 250 event! 10-4 Oct 17-18.

10/16/2026

Today's hero is SFC Gregory Rodriguez who celebrated his 54th birthday watching over his family from above. Take a moment to remember the sacrifice of him and his family.

Gregory Rodriguez
Sergeant First Class, United States Army
October 14, 1972 – September 2, 2008
Age 35
Weidman, Michigan

Operation Enduring Freedom
K-9 Unit, 527th Military Police Company, 709th Military Police Battalion,
18th Military Police Brigade, Ansbach, Germany

Died of sounds sustained in Ana Kalay, Afghanistan when his
mounted patrol came under small arms fire


Army Sergeant 1st Class Gregory A. Rodriquez, was a native of Weidman, Michigan, born, October 14, 1972. “Rod’ graduated from Mount Pleasant High School 19 years later where he was an accomplished wrestler and football player. He always believed in justice, law and order, which he sought to keep both before and after he joined the Army in 1994, and decided to make it a career in 1996.

Although staying tied to his hometown and beloved Red Wings hockey team, the Army took him to many great locations as he became a K-9 specialist in the Military Police. Training these incredible K-9 soldiers was his passion where he excelled at training the most difficult dogs. His most recent partner, Jacko, his closest companion over the last two years, survived the ambush and was to join his family.

He married his wife Laura in 1999 during a tour in Honolulu, HI. They were raising their family of three young boys, Gregory, Jr., Zachary, and Malory.
“I asked Greg if anything ever happened to him where he’d prefer to be buried,” his wife Laura Rodriguez said, “and he told me Arlington, as he wanted to be among the best and the brave.”

Respected by his companions, K-9 and other soldiers, he was known for his ability to “push everyone’s buttons” with his unique brand of sarcasm, while being intensely committed and loyal to his unit. Gregory A. Rodriguez was a former football player and wrestler who sought to keep order both before joining the Army and while he was in it, said his sister. “My brother liked to be the law,” said Lisa Dombrowski. “He liked justice. If it wasn’t right, he made it right.”

“Rod,” as he was known to his Army buddies, was a Red Wings fan who loved to hassle fans of other hockey teams he met during his military career. “Greg loved to push everyone’s buttons and get people going with his rare, unique sense of sarcasm,” she said. At the same time, her husband, a military police dog handler whose dog, Jacko, survived the fatal ambush, was “a very committed, loyal individual and could be counted on whenever needed.”

10/14/2026

NASA announced yesterday that Michigan's own Christina Koch will be transitioning to management astronaut status, and will be serving as their agency’s acting deputy chief engineer beginning on Sunday, Nov. 1. According to the space agency, she "will help lead NASA’s engineering community, supporting technical oversight, mission readiness, and engineering excellence across the agency’s programs and projects."

As an active astronaut, during her 2019/2020 mission to the International Space Station she broke the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman at 328 days, and participated in the first (and second, and third) all-female spacewalk. In April this year she became the first woman to visit the moon when she and her crewmates Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Jeremy Hansen became the first humans to go around the moon in over 50 years.

Congratulations, Christina! You continue to do amazing things and make us so proud!!!

You can see her display in our Astronaut Gallery here at the Michigan Heroes Museum in Frankenmuth, where you can see family photos she has shared and a T-shirt she wore while serving on the International Space Station. Her flightsuit can currently be seen in her hometown, on loan to the Grand Rapids Public Museum.

10/13/2026

On this day in 1985 Space Shuttle Challenger’s STS-41G mission concluded with a successful landing at Kennedy Space Center carrying Muskegon, Michigan native Capt. David Leestma (USN). In addition to events mentioned in our October 5 and October 11 posts, STS-41G also highlighted the first time a Canadian flew into space (Marc Garneau). And as it would become common on later Space Shuttle and International Space Station mission, this was the first time two females had flown into space together.

Capt. Leestma’s uniform, flightsuit, and other donated items are on display at the Michigan Heroes Museum in Frankenmuth, MI. Honor. Respect. Remember.

10/13/2026

Happy Birthday to the U.S. Navy, founded on this day in 1775!!! To all Sailors, THANK YOU for what you do to protect and defend us! Honor. Respect. Remember.