Veterans Day is on Nov. 11, and the University of Georgia’s ROTC program will hold an event to honor past and present service members on the annual holiday at 6 a.m. at the Military building.
The holiday was initially put into place to honor the first anniversary of World War 1, and became a national holiday beginning in 1938.
UGA has a strong ROTC program on campus. The program is structured as an elective that pairs with more than 100 majors offered at UGA.
Joshua Dillard, a senior political science major, is a cadet command sergeant major for the UGA Army ROTC program and he spoke with the Red & Black about the event.
The Veteran’s Day event will include a flag honoring ceremony, a salute to the colors of the flag and a handful of guest speakers, including Brian E. Stone, a retired lieutenant colonel of the U.S. Air Force and current UGA Director of Compliance for Programs Serving Minors, Dillard said.
“I am a prior service U.S Army Reserve veteran, and I’m still in the U.S. Army Reserve while being in college, so I think that is super important for current ROTC cadets who are about to enter the service to gain wisdom and knowledge from people who are currently serving or have already served,” Dillard said.
Although the event is not open to the public, Dillard said that he wants the student body to be aware of the event and know that there is a significant veteran population on campus that has given “a lot of sacrifice in putting on the uniform and serving.”
Dillard hopes that non-military UGA students will understand and respect what it means to serve in the military and give credit where credit is due not only on this holiday but also on a daily basis.
