Past and present members of the United States military stood in solidarity during Shippensburg University’s annual Veterans Day ceremony on Nov. 11.
This year’s ceremony began with an introduction and opening prayer given by SU Army ROTC cadets Dan Kinney and Michael Ochoa. Following the prayer, ROTC cadet Hunter Gladfelter addressed the crowd assembled in SU’s Ceddia Union Building’s Raider Lounge 6.
“These rights we care about so much could have been wiped away so many times if it weren’t for our veterans,” Gladfelter said. “I’m happy to be a part of a community that cares so much about our veterans.”
The United States military has been operating purely on the enlistment of volunteers ever since the end of the Vietnam War, according to Gladfelter. However, Gladfelter said this does not take away from the tremendous sacrifice given up by military draftees.
“Anyone who can wear the uniform and wear it proud has done a great service for our country,” Gladfelter said. ”We need to appreciate them.”
SU first-year students Catherine Miller and Nikole Botscheller said supporting veterans is “generational” and something they do on an everyday basis because of their families’ experiences with the military.
“Honoring our veterans is always something worth doing,” Miller said.
Veterans Day, previously known as “Armistice Day,” was founded by Woodrow Wilson in 1918 following the conclusion of World War I. Former president Dwight Eisenhower later changed the name to “Veterans Day” in order to recognize all veterans.
SU ROTC instructor Maj. Chris Morton said since World War I ended 98 years ago, the US has found conflict in places that American soldiers would not have even heard of in 1918.
“I’ve seen soldiers risk their lives for people they’ve never even met,” Morton said. “I thank them for their innumerable sacrifices, their endless services to society.”
Prior to the start of the ceremony, yellow roses had been placed on the seats of the ROTC cadets and the families of veterans. At the conclusion of the speeches, each individual that had a flower was invited to the front of the room to place them in a ribbon-shaped wreath.
The wreath, created in honor of SU’s veterans and those on active duty, was placed outside of SU’s Ezra Lehman Memorial Library as a symbol of their heroism and selflessness, according to Kinney.
“They [the veterans] sit right next to you every day,” Morton said. “I’m here in the company of heroes.”
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