Garrett Neese/ Daily Mining Gazette Members of the Arnold Air Society Technical Sgt. Robert E. LaMotte Squadron perform a vacant table ceremony honoring prisoners of war and those missing in action.

HUBBELL — Veterans heard from one of their own at the Veterans Day Dinner in Hubbell Saturday night.

State Rep. Greg Markkanen delivered the speech at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4624.

Markkanen, R-Hancock, is an Army veteran, having served in the 82nd Airborne Division and 452nd Combat Support Hospital. He also served with the 107th Combat Engineer Battalion of the Michigan Army National Guard.

“I’m a vet, my father’s a vet,” he said after the speech. “My uncles were vets. My grandfather was a vet. It’s the very foundation of this nation. And to be invited is quite an honor.”

His father served in World War II and the Korean War. One uncle served as a Marine during the Korean War at the Chosin Reservoir; his other uncle served in the 1st Cavalry and landed at Incheon.

Garrett Neese/ Daily Mining Gazette State Rep. Greg Markkanen displays a gift given to him by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4624 in Hubbell at Saturday’s Veterans Day dinner.

“VFWs, American Legions (have) a very deep place in my heart,” he said.

Markkanen was elected to his third term in office Tuesday. For the first time, he’ll be in the minority after Democrats won control of the House.

“It’s not a bad thing because it sets you back a little bit to get perspective,” he said. “I’ve done a lot of across-the-aisle work with my colleagues from Detroit and Ann Arbor and those areas. And I think we can do it again.”

Next to Sen. Ed McBroom, Markkanen is the second-most senior member of the U.P. delegation, which includes new members in the 107th, 108th and 109th House districts.

“The U.P. legislative team has to be a little bit more loud, a little bit more aggressive, a little bit more sometimes obnoxious — in a good way, because they forget that the U.P. is up here,” he said.

Garrett Neese/ Daily Mining Gazette Members of the Arnold Air Society Technical Sgt. Robert E. LaMotte Squadron introduce themselves and state their future career plans at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4624 Veterans Day dinner.

He praised the service of outgoing Rep. Beau LaFave, who chaired the house’s military affairs and homeland security committee.

Members of Michigan Technological University’s Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, who assisted during dinner, also introduced themselves and in what fields they plan to serve after graduation.

The ROTC’s Arnold Air Society Technical Sgt. Robert E. LaMotte Squadron works extensively with the post, also raising funds for the post through its annual POW/MIA 5K. The squadron presented the post with a $1,500 check from this year’s proceeds.

The squadron also honored prisoners of war and those missing in action with a vacant table ceremony.

The post also introduced members of Dollar Bay’s VFW Post, which will be merging with Hubbell’s.