Photos by Shane Epping Video by Nicholas Benner, Kyle Spradley, Rob Hill, Kevin Mathein and Lizz Cardwell Posted Nov. 12, 2014
Tigers honored United States military veterans all week on MU's campus. During Veterans Week 2014, Mizzou hosted a blood drive, an art show, a vigil, film screenings and a USO-style comedy show, and ROTC cadets and midshipmen, as well as Tiger veterans, took part in Columbia's Veterans Day parade.
The week's guest speakers included 9/11 survivor Michael Hingson, Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer and veteran/author/speaker J.R. Martinez. Stormie Dunn, author of Silenced No More, speaks about post-traumatic stress disorder at 7 p.m. Nov. 13 in Wrench Auditorium, Memorial Union.
On Veterans Day, Nov. 11, Mizzou held a ceremony on the east side of the Memorial Union to dedicate the new Blue Star Memorial, a marker sponsored by the Columbia Garden Club as part of part of a National Garden Clubs program to honor veterans. The dedication was followed by the annual wreath-laying ceremony and the National Roll Call. Throughout campus, trumpeters coordinated the simultaneous playing of “Taps.”
Cascading Trumpets
Trumpets sounded throughout the Mizzou campus on Veterans Day, as Tigers played “Taps” in honor of those who have served in the United States military.
Wreath Laying Ceremony & Blue Star Dedication
Tigers pose for a photo at Memorial Union to mark Veterans Day 2014.Every year Mizzou marks Veterans Day with a wreath-laying ceremony at Memorial Union tower. Completed in 1926, the tower was dedicated as a monument to honor students who died while serving in the military during World War I. The union's north and south wings and the A. P. Green Chapel were completed between 1952 and 1963.Jenn Cooper, a veteran, U.S. Army National Guard member and Mizzou journalism student, talks to the crowd.Ryan Gill, a U.S. Army veteran and Mizzou student, speaks at the ceremony.Amy Eultgen, environmental leadership adviser, passes out flags at the event.Barb Rothenberger, a member of the Columbia Garden Club, wears a patriotic scarf to keep warm.Carol Fleisher, director of the MU Veterans Center, bundles up to watch the ceremony. Fleisher is a recipient of the national Outstanding Public Service Award for her work with Mizzou’s veterans and active-duty personnel.Barb Hammer, director of the MU Disability Center, watches the ceremony.Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin addresses the crowd.Jacqueline Bledsoe plays "Taps" in front of Memorial Union during the wreath-laying ceremony.Trumpeter Jacqueline Bledsoe tries to keep warm on an unusually chilly Veterans Day.Mizzou ROTC cadets and midshipmen enter for the presentation of colors during the ceremony.Students pass by Memorial Union on Veterans Day.Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin greets Alice Havard, president of the Columbia Garden Club. The club sponsored the Blue Star Memorial Marker.Marty Walker, director of administrative services for the MU College of Engineering, takes the podium. Walker is a U.S. Army veteran.Alice Havard, president of the Columbia Garden Club, talks to the crowd. The club sponsored Mizzou's new Blue Star Memorial Marker, part of a National Garden Clubs program to honor veterans.Community members brave the cold to attend the Veterans Day ceremony at Mizzou's Memorial Union.Rich Grant, president of the Mizzou Military Veterans Alumni Association, reads the names of Mizzou students who died while serving the U.S. military during war.ROTC students stand at attention.ROTC students stand at attention.Community members honor veterans during the ceremony.Students watch the ceremonial events from inside Memorial Union.Mizzou Reserve Officers Training Corps students took part in the campus Veterans Day ceremonies as well as the city's Sunday parade. Mizzou has offered military training since 1869 and currently provides Army, Navy and Air Force ROTC programs.
