Fallen Veterans honored

Veterans Day is a time to honor those who have fought for their country. For many students at Utah State University, these soldiers are more than just names; they are family members and friends.

On the Taggart Student Center Patio from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, students will take turns reading the names of fallen veterans as a way to celebrate Veterans Day.

As part of their managing organizations class, a group of business students decided to help the USU Veterans Association bring back a tradition that hasn’t occurred on USU’s campus for the past two years.

“Our veterans need to be honored,” said Reginald Cherenfant, a business student who helped organize the project. “All of the people who died in action from the year 2000 on will have their names read.”

Cherenfant said there are 99 students signed up to read the names on campus. He said everyone on their team will be readings names, plus many other students and veterans who signed up.

Amber O’Quinn, a member of U-Serve Reserve, said they all had a shared commitment to this cause.

“This is a semester-long project, and it all just kind of came together, and we stuck with it,” O’Quinn said. “We are all passionate about helping out the veterans on campus.”

O’Quinn said choosing to work with the USU Veterans Association was the perfect fit for their group.

“There’s a lot of things that these people need help with,” O’Quinn said. “We were so happy to find an organization that was willing to work with us. They’re great people and so funny.”

O’Quinn said it’s important to do what we can for the people who have given up so much to keep Americans safe.

“We need to thank these people,” O’Quinn said. “Honoring them for just one day is a start, but it’s not enough.”

Nathan Clay, another member of the group in charge of this project, said this has been a rewarding experience for him.

“This is all about giving back to the community,” Clay said. “There are so many people who go to school here and so many locals who have served our country and they deserve this.”

Clay said the most rewarding part of this experience is getting to help veterans and letting them know their service is appreciated.

“You never expect how they’ll react,” he said.

Kyle Andreasen, a veteran and member of the USU Veterans Association, said it’s nice for their organization to have more helping hands participate in their events.

“It’s nice to see students get involved,” Andreasen said.

Jake Falcon, another veteran and student at USU, said the group’s service this semester has helped their organization.

“We don’t usually get this kind of publicity or help, especially since a lot of the veterans at Utah State are non-traditional students,” Falcon said.

Kris Jarrett, another member of the Veterans Association, said this kind of recognition is very important.

“Some of the people who have served have gone under the radar,” Jarrett said. “If there’s someone sitting next to you in a class, they may be a veteran and you don’t even know it.”

Jarrett said even the people who go under the radar should be honored.

The business group plans to do more than just recognize veterans on this day. They also plan to make a club on campus for people interested in serving the veterans throughout the year.

As part of the Veterans Day celebration, the group also helped organize a barbecue Monday where veterans were given free hamburgers. The group said there are many more projects planned for the future, including giving free pizza out at the association’s meetings.

For more information about U-Serve Reserve, you can find them on Facebook or contact them at userve.reserve@gmail.com.

—wheatie_7@yahoo.com

Twitter: @wheatstweets7