Rutgers Army Reserve Officers Training Corps members plan to remember fallen soldiers and thank veterans for their service in honor of Veteran’s Day today and celebrate at tomorrow’s football game.
The ROTC will have its color guard group at the game because it is a better way to promote veteran awareness since so many people from the University and the state attend, said Captain Doug Larsen.
“[University] athletics is a good rally point for all of Rutgers,” he said. “To have veterans and soldiers at the game … calls for the attention and support that is needed.”
Although there are many veterans on campus who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, most students are not aware that they are around, Larsen said.
“There are over 400 veterans at [the University],” he said. “The person sitting to your right or left may very well be a veteran.”
By showing their faces at the football game, Larsen said he hopes more students will get to know some of these veterans, soldiers and ROTC members.
“To see actual students that are actual veterans on the [football stadium] screen … you may see that face on Monday in class,” Larsen said.
Larsen said he celebrates Veteran’s Day to honor his friend in particular, Ron Winchester, who passed away in Iraq a few years ago, and celebrates Veteran’s Day with Winchester’s family each year.
“Now that he’s gone, he’s what Veteran’s Day is all about to me,” he said.
Noah Herskovitz, a deployed Iraq veteran and ROTC member, said this is his first time celebrating Veteran’s Day since his deployment.
Born into a family that was not of a military background, Herskovitz and his grandfather, who passed away, are the only veterans in his family.
He said he celebrates Veteran’s Day by honoring his grandfather and other veterans and soldiers.
“I’m going to think about my grandfather and call [other veterans and soldiers] — even though I’m out of the army — to let them know I still appreciate them and what they’re doing,” said Herskovitz, a School of Arts and Sciences first-year student.
Herskovitz said he feels very welcome on campus, especially because he frequently runs into people who are veterans and people who simply thank him for his support and heroism.
He remembers a time when he had a rough day, and he was walking alone downtown in his Army uniform, when someone beeped their car horn at him to thank him for his service to the country.
“That made my walk so much better,” Herskovitz said. “They see you, and it’s a common bond.”
But sometimes, students are not so friendly or feel intimidated when they see him and other ROTC members walking around in their uniforms, maybe because they are not accustomed to seeing people in their uniforms, he said.
“It’s an unfamiliar thing [to see],” Herskovitz said.
ROTC member Kathryn Pedone said she frequently runs into the same issues as Herskovitz, but still tries to show that all veterans, the military and Veteran’s Day are important to the country.
“[Veteran’s Day] is about honoring those who gave everything for this country,” said Pedone, a School of Arts and Sciences first-year student.
ROTC remembers U.S. veterans
Published: Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Updated: Tuesday, November 10, 2009
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