Shown is the 1st Platoon, known as the Wolverine Platoon, in 1973, in Calumet. (Photo provided)

HOUGHTON — The U.S. Infantry veteran group, the  Wolverine Platoon, will host a reunion today and Wednesday, Tom Tikkanen, a veteran of the platoon, said. The reunion takes place at 12 p.m., June 16 at the Lake Linden Park, then into the evening at the Lake Linden Legion post and Wednesday, there will be a breakfast event at 10 a.m. at the Calumet VFW Post.

The reunion is planned to coincide with the year 50 years after the majority of the platoon were discharged, said Tikkanen. Before his career in local public office and Keweenaw real estate, he participated directly in this specialized U.S. Army program.

“Fifty-three years ago, approximately 40 young men from the Upper Peninsula joined the U.S. Army and left for basic training at Ft Knox, Kentucky. We were dubbed the “Wolverine Platoon”.

Tikkanen was one of 20 men from Houghton and Keweenaw counties who enlisted together in 1973. Recruits were offered incentives such as a $2,500 bonus for a four-year enlistment and a guaranteed tour of duty.

After basic training, he said, they were assigned to the 9th Infantry Division at Ft Lewis, Washington.

The 9th Infantry Division was initially deactivated in 1969, after serving four years in the Mekong Delta of Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. The division was reactivated in 1972 at For Lewis, where it was transitioned into a specialized, high-tech, experimental test unit, testing new motorized infantry tactics, maintaining domestic readiness, and acting as a Cold War strategic reserve. It pioneered light-strike doctrine, relying heavily on unique vehicles like dune buggies (armed with TOW missiles) and specialized motorcycles for scouts and rapid deployment

“In time, many of us were deployed across the globe on various assignments with other units,” Tikkanen said, “but upon our discharge, we remained in sporadic contact and occasionally held a reunion gathering especially in the decade following our discharges.”

Tikkanen said Several of the platoon  members made a career of the military with one member attaining the rank of colonel and another becoming a Command Sgt Major of the 101st Airborne Division.