Vietnam veterans to be guests of honor at OSU appreciation dinner
Thursday, November 3, 2016
Flag displays, ribbon cutting, wall unveiling and Purple Heart proclamation set
Vietnam veterans will get a long-awaited homecoming welcome as guests of honor at the upcoming Veterans Appreciation Dinner on Thursday, Nov. 10, at Oklahoma State University.
“We are grateful to our Vietnam veterans and glad to have this opportunity to honor those who are OSU and Northern Oklahoma College faculty, staff and alumni,” said Rick Hansen, coordinator of Veteran Student Academic Services at OSU. “Although long overdue, we want to recognize their service and finally offer a formal ‘welcome home’ to these veterans who served honorably and admirably at a tumultuous time in our nation’s history.”
The Vietnam veterans will be honored throughout the dinner with an escort from OSU ROTC cadets. Each will also be recognized by name as well as their branch of service, dates of service and final military rank, while receiving a presidential proclamation and lapel pin commemorating their service to our country. The dinner is one of several activities planned for the campus during the week leading up to Veterans Day, Friday, Nov. 11.
Veterinarians in the military to be honored
Friday’s recognition events will start at noon at the OSU Center for Veterinary Health Sciences in Stillwater, where the important and long-time role of veterinarians in the military will be recognized with a ceremony at the center’s Military Veterinarian Honor Court. Lt. Col. Benjamin Dahlke will present “The Next Greatest Generation” at noon on Nov. 11. He is the Commander of the Air Force ROTC Detachment 670 at OSU.
Veteran Success Center dedication
OSU President Burns Hargis, an ROTC and military alumnus himself, will cut the ribbon to officially open the Veteran Success Center on campus at 2 p.m. Friday in the North Classroom Building. The center is a joint venture between OSU and Northern Oklahoma College and is already having a positive impact on the veteran and military-affiliated students at both institutions, according to Hansen.
Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame wall unveiled
Immediately after the ribbon cutting, Hargis will unveil a wall in the success center, that honors Oklahoma A&M College and OSU alumni who have been inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame, along with the OSU ROTC program and others across the state that were recently inducted into the hall.
Purple Heart University proclamation
Hargis will also sign a proclamation from the National Military Order of the Purple Heart that formally names OSU a Purple Heart University for outstanding service to military service members, veterans, their dependents and survivors. Eight Purple Heart recipients are expected to be in attendance at the ceremony, where Purple Heart recipient, retired MP Sgt.1st Class James Battles Jr. will present a plaque denoting the honor to Hargis.
“Unlike other designations, this one originates with the members of the Military Order of the Purple Heart,” Hansen said. “It is not solicited by the recognized institutions, but comes from the MOPH members themselves. OSU will become the 25th university in the nation designated as a Purple Heart University and the only one in Oklahoma.”
American flag displays
A display of 6,884 American flags will be placed on the OSU library lawn on Tuesday, Nov. 8, to honor each of the military service members who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice in the War on Terror since 2001. Two podiums on the library plaza, adjacent to the display, will have a roster of names of the brave men and women who have given their lives in defense of our nation. The flags will remain in place through Nov. 12.
The OSU-Tulsa campus is also honoring veterans with 1,700 “Flags for the Fallen” that students, faculty and staff have placed in an area adjacent to North Hall, on the north side of John Hope Franklin Boulevard near its intersection with Greenwood Avenue. Each flag will represent four fallen U.S. service members who have given their lives during the global war on terrorism. OSU-Tulsa is also asking students, faculty and staff to observe a moment of silence wherever they may be on Friday, Nov. 11, at 1 p.m.
Purple Heart members and university designation recognized at halftime
The OSU Marching Band will help recognize Purple Heart recipients, and OSU’s official designation as the state’s first Purple Heart University will be formally announced during Military Appreciation Day as the Cowboys take on Texas Tech, Saturday, Nov. 12. Many of this week’s events will be videotaped by OState TV (www.ostate.tv) and included as part of the halftime recognition ceremonies.
For more information, contact Rick Hansen at (405) 744-1390 or email richard.hansen@okstate.edu.
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