Cheryl and Terry Blaskowski of Hebron Township, near Cheboygan, pose in Mackinaw City with the motorcycle they had built for their son, Sergeant First Class Matthew Blaskowski, who was killed in active duty in Afghanistan in fall 2007. At the International Ironworkers Festival in Mackinaw City Saturday, August 9, Cheryl and Terry Blaskowski of Hebron Township posed next to a motorcycle they had built for their son, Sergeant First Class Matthew Blaskowski of Cheboygan, who was killed in active duty in Afghanistan September 23, 2007.

Invited to the festival by retired ironworker Greg Armantrout and Dena Armantrout of Cheboygan, the couple set up a booth to raise money for family, friends, and wounded soldiers to travel to Italy for a welcomehome party for Mr. Blaskowski's division members, when they return from Afghanistan to their base in Vicenza.

Mr. Blaskowski was a member of the U.S. Army 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade.

"It's all about the battalion and what they've been through. I think [the ironworkers] understand because they are a brotherhood, and the military is a brotherhood," Terry Blaskowski said, noting that many ironworkers have served in the armed forces.