ROTC to honor Vets with 24-hour tribute
On Nov. 8-9, USU will celebrate Veterans Day with a number of different events from student groups on campus.
USU’s Air Force ROTC will give students the opportunity to pay acknowledgement to prisoners of war at the POW/MIA Tribute on the Quad. The tribute begins at 5 p.m. on Nov. 8 and will run a full 24 hours until the next night, according to Cadet Austin Stott. There will be a presentation of the color detail at the beginning of the tribute as well as a retrieving of the colors at the end of the following day.
Stott asked students and members of the community to please walk around the flags and honor guardsmen that will be in the center of the Quad. He said people are encouraged to bring a candle to light for the display if they wish.
“I remember seeing the flags last year,” said Lacey Kendall, nutrition major. “What USU and the ROTC are doing for the men and women who have served, or are serving now, and those who have fought for our freedoms is a great way to gain recognition for those who have sacrificed so much.”
There will be students from the ROTC program standing at the event to answer questions.
USU is also hosting a Veterans Day Memorial in the TSC Sunburst Lounge. The ceremony begins Nov. 9 at noon. This year, the event will be highlighted by performances of the Thomas Edison Charter School choir. Jonathan Aaron, a recent returned soldier, will share some of his experiences from war. Will Poppendorf, a retired research professor of industrial hygiene at USU and director of the American Industrial Hygiene Board, will also be talking about U.S. service members.
“Last year we did a larger ceremony for the Afghanistan and Iraq wars veterans. It was a somber ceremony,” said Tony Flores, veterans program coordinator for the Access and Diversity Center. “This year our ceremony is going to be more of a celebration. Our intent is to recognize and appreciate the veterans.”
– leannfox@aggiemail.usu.edu