By Ken Krall, WXPR News

Rhinelander’s Historic Preservation Commission is joining Oneida County to honor the lives of the area’s World War II veterans.

The Rhinelander Roots Celebration is being held 1:45-3:15 p.m. at Rhinelander High School auditorium, part of a day-long Veteran’s Day program at the schools and the courthouse.

Mayor Chris Frederickson said they wanted to have the public hear about service from a first-hand perspective.

“On stage will be various veterans from the Navy, Army, Marines,” Frederickson said. “They will have a plaque in front of them explaining their name, where they served, the years they served, the year they were born, so people get an appreciation of how far we are from that conflict. We’ll give each one of them an opportunity to speak about their participation during that period of time.”

Frederickson said the veterans will answer questions from the audience. The public is welcome to attend.

“Our Roots program that we have through the city takes some of our city’s history and bring it to the forefront so people understand where we came from and what’s unique about Rhinelander,” he explained. “One of them is our veterans and our heroes. We look forward to presenting them to the public.”

With Veteran’s Day on Sunday, Oneida County is holding its annual observances Friday, first at James Williams Middle School at 8:30 a.m. The traditional Veteran’s Day ceremony will be Friday morning at 11 a.m. at the Oneida County Courthouse