Elon pays tribute to service and sacrifice of veterans during annual observance

One by one, veterans rose to state their names and military branch in LaRose Digital Theatre on Friday as Elon paid tribute to those who have given their time and sometimes their lives to protecting the country. The display offered a poignant reminder of the service and sacrafice of veterans and was part of the university’s annual Veterans Day Observance, with the university joining in a collective “thank you” to those who have served. 

“This ceremony has become part of our history, much like the history embodied by the veterans you see seated in the front of the auditorium,” said Matt Valle, Martha and Spencer Love Term Professor and professor of management, who led the effort to organize the observance.

This year’s observance takes on special meaning as people around the world mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. Valle noted that Elon was one of the few colleges during World War I that was home to a Student Army Training Corps, which preceded the modern-day ROTC programs now present at colleges and universities around the country, Valle noted. 

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Both male and female students participated in the corps, though the end of the war came before any student members of the corps were able to serve in the military. However, Elon did lose four students during World War I, which Valle reminded “was bigger and deadlier than the wars that preceded it.”

Elon has commemorated that period of its history with a special display on the second floor of Belk Library curated by Randall Bowman, archivist and assistant librarian. Love School of Business students also prepared a video tribute that provided thoughts from students across campus about what it means to be a veteran. 

Following a moment of silence and invocation by Father Peter Tremblay, associate chaplain for Catholic life, guest speaker and Professor of Management Bill Burpitt Jr. provided perspective on the impact that veterans have had, noting that there are 22 million veterans living in the country today. 

“They are doing things like taking their kids to school, mowing the lawn and waiting in line at the grocery store,” said Burpitt, who served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam in 1967-68. Citing author Benjamin Busch, he noted that “they are all Americans who for a time invested their lives in service to our nation and through that process, have become direct participants in protecting this democracy.”

Burpitt said ceremonies like the one Friday are vital to creating the bridges in society between those who have served and those who have not. “I think this provides a way to continue that relationship,” Burpitt said. “We see seated here today how that connection holds.”

To close the ceremony, Elon a capella group Rip_Chord performed the national anthem.