Veterans Day highlighted by ROTC memorials
Published Nov. 14, 2006
Veterans Day weekend featured various memorials and events at MU as members of the community joined together with members of the MU Reserve Officers' Training Corps to honor past war veterans.
The Army, Navy and Air Force ROTC units all participated in events throughout the weekend.
The Air Force ROTC set up a 24-hour vigil in front of Crowder Hall. The vigil began at 11 a.m. on Friday and ended Saturday. The date and time were chosen to celebrate the signing of the armistice in World War I. The armistice was signed on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
"This is such a sacred date and time," Air Force ROTC cadet Kai Reyes said. "We have only one day to celebrate and honor thousands and thousands of veterans."
The 21st annual vigil featured 24 pairs of cadets that guarded the vigil for one hour at a time.
The vigil began with opening ceremonies and ended with the Veterans Day march and parade.
Reyes said about 100 Air Force cadets and 65 Army cadets were on hand, as well as five vintage World War II vehicles and bagpipe players provided by the Columbia Fire Department.
"The cadets get very excited," Reyes said. "The community makes us feel important."
The Army ROTC unit participated in the memorial vigil with the Air Force ROTC. Army ROTC and cadets also participated in the Veterans Day parade through the town.
"As a veteran, I appreciate the ROTC cadets' interest in veterans and the paths they've laid down in front of them," said Doc Bosma, human resources administrator for the Army ROTC unit.
The Navy ROTC unit was featured in a new memorial. The College of Engineering war memorial rededication was a student council initiative proposed by the college, Navy ROTC Commander Lynn Smith said.
The memorial honored all engineering veterans that served after 1945, Smith said.
Smith said the Navy ROTC participated in multiple events.
Navy ROTC Commanding Officer Capt. Basil Read spoke at the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital on Veterans Day, and the color guard and drill squad were present at the Moberly Veterans Day Parade.
The State Historical Society of Missouri sponsored a mini-conference with two workshops to observe Veterans Day. The first workshop focused on military records collections and the second showed how to use World War I draft registration cards for genealogical and historical research.
"This was a day of multi-branch cooperation and lots of help from the community," Reyes said.