By JESSE PARHAM
Reporter

(WARRENSBURG, Mo., digitalBURG) — Yet another week has passed and with it came another day of remembrance It’s a day where we all thank those who sacrificed so much for peace of our country, along with those that still thrive amongst us today. Of course, I am speaking of Veterans Day, which was this Friday, Nov. 11, but we here at UCM are thankful for our soldiers every day. So that begs the questions, what more can we do?

A plethora of events were hosted on campus for Veterans Day: A breakfast, blood drive and two ceremonies honoring those who served. An event that took place during the whole week was the honor tree, where one could write down the name of a deceased family member who may have been a veteran or someone who received a Purple Heart. Of course, one could also simply write down the name of a living family member or their own name if they served at some point or another.

Now let’s talk about some of the events. The military and veterans appreciation breakfast had a decent turnout with men and women arriving from the Missouri Veterans Home and some of our own ROTC students. This event took place in the Ellis Dining Center.

Jeff Huffman, director of military and veterans services here at UCM, gave a small speech welcoming the men and women and thanking them for their service.

As for the other events, the blood drive was sponsored by the UCM Military and Veterans services, the office of campus activities, UCM’s Army Reserve Officer Training Corps, and many more. Those who participated received free pizza and a coupon for free tacos, after all, donating blood is hungry work.

Matthews-Crawford American Legion Post 131 was where the Veterans Day ceremony was held. Several Desert Storm veterans were recognized for their efforts during the event. A luncheon was also offered by the VFW Post 131 for all in attendance. The last ceremony on Friday was hosted at the Missouri Veterans Home where former Army Ranger Chris Bemiss was a guest speaker.

Finally, on Saturday, Nov. 12, there was a small tailgate party for UCM veterans and their families. A small luncheon was served consisting of chili dogs and refreshments.

The school mascot, Moe the mule, showed up to entertain the kids, followed by President Chuck Ambrose giving a speech. He mostly thanked everyone who was there for all their hard work and the sacrifices that they made, he also thanked the ROTC students, calling them “veterans in the making.”

We had a moment of silence for those who are gone before returning to more light hearted fun, such as speaking about the football game and how Ambrose wished everyone would wish the team luck and cheer extra loudly when they scored a goal. Ambrose then gave the mic over to Jeff Huffman who thanked him for making such a great environment for veterans and military students and their families here at UCM.

All in all, I was glad to see everyone enjoying the day and simply being glad for where they were in life. Young and old, sitting together and sharing stories that in reality are not that different from what we still go through in this day and age. We have so much to learn from each other, and events like these make me believe in that all the more.