A veteran born and raised in Cape Coral with an up-close-and-personal view of the War in Afghanistan will take to the podium Wednesday night as part of the Southwest Florida Military Museum & Library Hometown Hero Speaker Series.

Thor Hmielewski, a Marine veteran who himself served in Afghanistan on two separate tours in 2009 and 2011, will be the museum’s featured speaker. Hmielewski, a Cape Coral High graduate, recently organized a vigil at the Veterans Memorial Area at Eco Park in honor of the 13 service members who lost their lives in the waning days of the U.S. withdrawal in Afghanistan.

The free event takes place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Fort Myers from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Sept. 29, and includes free appetizers and a cash bar.

Hmielewski, 33, who served as a Marine from 2008 to 2013, leaving his service with the rank of sergeant, said his talk includes why he decided to organize the impromptu memorial service and how it ties into his personal thoughts and time fighting for our country.

“To me, the Marines, the sailor and the solider that died had a lot of similarities between myself when I served when I was their age — I’m not much older than them now,” he said. “Those memories are still fresh with me. I saw myself, and my friends that I served with, in each one of them. It was kind of just a very surreal feeling just knowing it’s the same war. It was the last chapter of this 20-year-long story. There are just a lot of similarities between them, my friends, and why I did it and how it impacted me.”

Hmielewski, in reference to being a “hometown hero” said he doesn’t view himself that way, adding that being able to speak candidly to the community on what his experiences have taught him is call to action.

“I don’t see myself in that light. That I’m a ‘hero,'” he said. “I’m humbled by it, but if I can bring attention to things that are going to better the community (or connect with) people that are wandering through life not knowing if people are feeling the same way as them, and you get the platform so you can let people know you’re here and you’re feeling what they’re feeling. If I can help anybody from that, than it’ll be worth it.

“I don’t think it’s very heroic what I’m doing. It’s just being a good citizen, an active member of your community and trying to make it better. I want to use my platform to impact people in a positive light.”

Event coordinator with the Southwest Florida Military Museum & Library, Denise Wood, said she heard about Hmielewski’s memorial at Eco Park, and that he reached out to the museum asking if they would like to house the display he created.

“Then we found out that he was a Cape Coral native and a person of interest here. His uncle has also been working with our Veteran Service Officers for years,” she said. “He seemed like a perfect candidate for our speaker series. He’s an interesting young man, a bright young man, and you can tell when you meet him that he has a huge heart.”

For free tickets, see the museum’s Facebook page for an eventbrite.com link or visit the website directly and search.

Crowne Plaza Hotel is at 13051 Bell Tower Drive in Fort Myers.

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