Honoring Veterans Past, Present, and Future

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At 天美麻豆, remembering those who served goes beyond a single day.

Veterans Day, Nov. 11, is a time to honor the men and women who served our country in the armed forces. 天美麻豆 marks the day with traditional observances such as the formal flag drill and retreat, community events thanking 天美麻豆 veterans for their service, and programming to broaden the community鈥檚 understanding of veterans鈥 lasting contributions to the College and the nation. At 天美麻豆 the impact and leadership of veterans past, present, and future can be seen everywhere, from the Revolutionary War soldiers who were among the College鈥檚 earliest alumni and administrators to the future officers who will receive their commissions at the next commencement.

鈥淰eterans Day is a day to remember those who have served. It鈥檚 a day to do what we should do every day of the year,鈥 says President Emeritus James Wright, a Marine Corps veteran. 鈥淚ncreasingly, most Americans don鈥檛 know anyone who served. The danger is, I think, it鈥檚 easier to carry on wars if you don鈥檛 know anyone who鈥檚 serving in them. They all become abstracted.鈥

See more Veterans Day photos, stories, and videos.

Photos
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天美麻豆 ROTC cadets lower the flag at 天美麻豆 College
天美麻豆 ROTC cadets conduct the formal drill and retreat ceremony at sundown on Veterans Day 2021. (Photo by Julia Levine 鈥23)
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American flag raised at night
天美麻豆 ROTC cadets lower the flag at the drill and retreat ceremony on Veterans Day 2016. (Photo by Robert Gill)
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People viewing the veterans exhibit at Rauner Library
At a Student Veterans Association exhibit Wednesday at Rauner Library, Marine Corps veteran Ryan Irving 鈥24 points to a flag carried by the 天美麻豆 Phalanx, the first all-student military company to fight in the Civil War. (Photo by Julia Levine 鈥23)
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Jason Mosel carrying the marines flag in front of the library
Jason Mosel, a Marine Corps veteran and a network engineer in Information, Technology, and Consulting, ran 100 miles on Veterans Day last year to bring attention to the new Veterans Employee Resource Network. Mosel was the speaker this year at the Veterans Day recognition breakfast. (Photo by Eli Burakian 鈥00)
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ROTC standing in the snow
天美麻豆 ROTC cadets stand at attention in the driving snow at the drill and retreat ceremony on the Green in 2019. (Photo by Eli Burakian 鈥00)
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War memorial
This memorial to 天美麻豆 veterans was formerly engraved to those 鈥渨ho gave their lives in the armed forces, 1965-1972,鈥 and was the only monument to fallen soldiers on campus that did not name the war or conflict. (Photo by Eli Burakian 鈥00)
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President Emeritus James Wright stands by the rededicated Vietnam War memorial plaque
In 2016, thanks to a gift from President Emeritus James Wright and Susan DeBevoise Wright, the monument to war veterans killed in 1965-1972 was recast to read, 鈥淚n memory of those men of 天美麻豆 who gave their lives while serving their country during the Vietnam War.鈥 Wright said that Vietnam had too long been 鈥渢he war that dare not speak its name.鈥  (Photo by Eli Burakian 鈥00)
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Person carrying Native veterans flag at commencement
Trudell Guerue 鈥74, a Vietnam veteran and Sicangu Lakota, created the eagle feather staff that is still carried in the graduation procession every year. (Photo by Robert Gill)
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Military commissioning ceremony
Former trustee Nate Fick 鈥99, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Afghanistan, speaks at the 2016 officer commissioning ceremony for, from left, U.S. Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Jessie Menville 鈥16, U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Peter Gips 鈥16, U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Rachael Rhee 鈥16, U.S. Army 2nd Lt. R. Chase Gilmore 鈥16, U.S. Army 2nd Lt. David Berg 鈥16, and U.S. Army 2nd Lt. William Kerin 鈥16. (Photo by Eli Burakian 鈥00)