About 70 people gathered at dawn today near Sample Gates for Indiana University’s annual Veterans Day event.
For at least the past decade, IU’s Center for Veteran and Military Students has had a flag raising ceremony outside of Franklin Hall to honor veterans and military members.
This year’s keynote speaker was Colonel Ryan Harvey, Air Force Commander and IU alumnus. Harvey noted the legacy of military services spanning generations at IU and dating back to the Civil War. He recognized IU alumni and veterans including Ernie Pyle, Morton C. Hunter, General Lewis Hershey, General Howard Wilcox and Dr. Adah McMahan.
He praised the military people whose names are not in history books or in public programs. They include student veterans balancing classes, employment and transition to civilian life; staff members who brings calmness and discipline to difficult work; and faculty members and advisers who share their experiences quietly and help others succeed.
Harvey said Veterans Day does more than just call on people to express gratitude, it calls on people to act with respect.
“That means recognizing that every veteran's experience is different,” he said. “It means supporting student veterans as they pursue education and careers. It means valuing the leadership and expertise veterans bring to our workforce. It means remembering those who carry the wounds that may not be visible, and it means that ensuring veterans and military-connected families know they belong in the Indiana University community.”
Curtis Wampler, Commander of Burton Woolery American Legion Post 18 in Bloomington, attended the event. Wampler served in the Air Force for 16 years.
Wampler said Veterans Day is a time to remember those who have joined the military to serve their country and made sacrifices to do so.
“It's just a meaningful day, just to remember the ones that gave all the sacrifice for this nation to be able to do what you all are doing, and to do what we do today in the United States,” he said.
John Summerlot, founding director for the Center for Veteran and Military Students, said it’s important to celebrate Veterans Day because a lot of veterans look like everybody else and may not get recognition. He said he’s had people tell him that they have never known a veteran but that may have not been true. For example, he said it could have been the young woman with purple hair, which one may not associate with a veteran.
“Not every veteran is an old white bald guy like me,” Summerlot said. “And understanding, particularly for our student veterans, that they may look very different from what people assume a veteran looks like.”
Summerlot served in the United States Marine Corps and the Army National Guard.
The ceremony concluded with the playing of The Armed Forces Medley to celebrate the branches of the armed services.
