Veterans Honored at Wreath-Laying Ceremony

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The Saint Francis community came together on a cold, dreary morning to pay tribute to America’s veterans last week.

A wreath-laying ceremony was held outside the JFK Center on Veterans Day, Nov. 11. Students, faculty members and veterans from the surrounding area were in attendance.

Among prayers for peace and strength, a lone trumpeter delivered “Taps,” the traditional bugle call played at military funerals to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

For many in attendance, the day carries great significance.

“I love all of the support,” said Hannah Cole, vice president of SFU’s Student Veterans Organization and a member of the Army National Guard.

“This is a day where all of America says, ‘Hey, we support you guys,’” said the senior computer science major from Muncy, Pennsylvania.

Following the wreath-laying ceremony, a luncheon was held for veterans at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art.

Veterans Day began in the United States as Armistice Day, a holiday created by President Woodrow Wilson in 1919 to commemorate the end of hostilities in World War I. The holiday formally became Veterans Day in 1954 during the Eisenhower Administration.

What might surprise people about the military, apart from the varied personalities therein, would be the viewpoints of veterans about this day of remembrance.

“When someone thanks me for my service, I’m always nervous by that,” said Art Remillard, an associate professor of religious studies, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps in the early 1990s.

“But, what they’re doing is trying to express something, not about me, but about what it was I was connected to.”