“Absent, sir!”
The short, staccato phrase hung in the air repeatedly as three University of New Mexico ROTC students answered when a list of names was read aloud on a brisk, clear New Mexico morning on Nov. 11, Veterans Day. The names were of those New Mexicans killed in the Afghanistan and Iraq military theaters since 2002.
Photo: Retired Marine Staff Sargent Gene Shanklin plays 'Taps" during the Physical Plant Department's Veterans Day ceremony at UNM.
Tuesday also marked the fourth year the UNM Physical Plant Department has conducted a memorial service to mark Veterans Day.
“It’s a special day for all veterans,” said Harvey Chace, associate director for Maintenance and Construction for the UNM Physical Plant, and a retired Air Force Colonel with 25 years of service. “It’s called Veterans Day to honor all of us, but it’s more about those who didn’t come back with us, and it’s a chance for all of us to remember them and honor them.”
Veterans Day honors the service of the men and women who served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Veterans Day originally celebrated the signing of the armistice ending hostilities between Germany and the Allied nations on Nov. 11, 1918.
This armistice marked the ending of World War I and was signed by Germany on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. In 1938, Congress made Armistice Day a federal holiday, and on May 26, 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower, himself a former five-star General of the Army, signed a law changing the day’s name to “Veterans Day” to honor the service of all of America’s veterans.
For Parking Director Clovis Acosta, a Purple Heart recipient for his service in Vietnam, Veterans Day gives him time to reflect.
“It’s a sad moment,” he said. “It’s tough to see wars and the aftermath and the result of war. Young people get killed, and that’s the hard part to swallow.”
At Smith Plaza on UNM’s main campus, the Student Veterans of UNM spent the day hosting the “Mile of Coins” fundraiser, splitting the proceeds with the Veterans Integration Center to help homeless veterans.
While definitive numbers were still be calculated, the Student Veterans were quickly approaching their target fundraising goal (one mile of pennies equals roughly $844) by 3 p.m. For the full story visit: "Mile of Coins.”
Media Contact: Benson Hendrix, (505) 277-1816; e-mail: bhendrix@unm.edu