UNA has joined a nationwide effort to honor all veterans and those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice since the Sept. 11 tragedy. On Veterans Day, Friday, Nov. 11 (11-11-11), UNA will be hosting the annual Veterans Day ceremony.

The ceremony first began about 15 years ago as a student-initiated ceremony by the SGA, and is structured in largely the same way today. During the ceremony, the National Anthem, along with other service songs, will be performed by the UNA Pride of Dixie Band and the Chamber Choir. Guest speaker Larry Zandarski, post commander for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, or the VFW, will be at the ceremony as well. He will be talking to students about the importance of Veterans Day and why it is so crucial to remember the rights and privileges Americans have.

“I believe every student should attend the ceremony,” said sophomore Cadet Eric Moss. “We, as Americans, owe our veterans that respect.”

The ceremony will include a new event this year called Roll Call. The main point of this event is to send a strong message to the troops currently serving-the message being that their peers have not forgotten their sacrifices, or those of the fallen.

During Roll Call, campus and community volunteers will read the names of more than 6,200 casualties of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom, now called Operation New Dawn.

The event will start at 6 a.m., break at 11 a.m. for the ceremony itself and resume until all of the names have been read. It will take nearly eight hours to read the entire list of names.

“When you hear each name read aloud, it is very poignant because each signifies a person who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country,” said Lieutenant Colonel Wayne Bergeron, faculty adviser for the UNA Military and Veteran Alliance and faculty member of the Criminal Justice Department at UNA. “This event is simply about remembering that sacrifice. There is probably not a veteran on campus that does not have a single friend or comrade on that list.”

There will also be a nationwide minute of silence at 11 a.m. for students and community members to reflect upon and remember all veterans. The ceremony will conclude with a performance of taps followed by a reception.

All students are encouraged to attend the Veterans Day ceremony, taking place at the Amphitheater Thursday Nov. 11 at 11 a.m.

“Students can expect this ceremony to be a somber and emotional event,” said Dr. Ronald Smith, committee chairman of the Veterans Day ceremony. “We are not only honoring the veterans who have served their country since 9/11, but also every veteran throughout American history.”

                                              Quick Facts

Who?

All UNA students

What?

National Roll Call

When?

Friday Nov. 11

Where?

Memorial Amphitheater