Campus community celebrates veterans, University’s birthday

In a combined celebration of Veteran’s Day and the University’s Charter Day, veterans, students and administration commemorated servicemen and women yesterday morning in Kirkpatrick Chapel on the College Avenue campus.

Since yesterday marked the 245th anniversary of the University and the 243rd anniversary of the Marine Corps, University President Richard L. McCormick welcomed veterans and thanked them for their services throughout the world.

“[We are working on] making Rutgers a place of welcome for veterans by providing meaningful services on all campuses,” McCormick said.

The University was ranked third in the nation two weeks ago in Military Times Edge magazine for its arch program that transitions soldiers into student life, said Col. (Ret.) Stephen Abel, director for Veteran Services.

The University rose from the 21st rank to third, out of more than 200 U.S. four-year institutions surveyed, for student-veteran friendliness, Abel said. The University is one of only two institutions in New Jersey to make the list.

Vice President for Student Affairs Gregory S. Blimling said in the past three years, the University has made major strides to help transition soldiers to students, starting with the creation of the Office of Veterans Services.

“When I came in 2004, the campus did not recognize Veteran’s Day. We did not have an office for veterans,” Blimling said.

He said veterans were treated as traditional students, and the University needed to provide programs that address the needs of veteran-students.

Keynote speaker Col. (Ret.) Jack Jacobs, an alumnus and Medal of Honor recipient, began his pre-military career at the University as a member of the Class of 1966. After he arrived, he joined the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program.

“When I came with the Army ROTC program, I thought you had to be tall and strong, but being small is a huge advantage in battle,” said Jacobs, who stands at 5 feet, 5 inches tall.

Jacobs, whose war memoir “If Not Now, When?: Duty and Sacrifice In America’s Time of Need” won the Colby Award in 2010, stressed the need for Americans to serve their country.

“War is a terrible thing, but a war is not the worst thing,” Jacobs said. “A man whose concern is personal safety is less of a man than the people who protect his freedoms.”

University veterans have fought in virtually every foreign conflict and brought their experiences back with them, Blimling said.

“Even our University was named after a colonel — Col. Henry Rutgers,” Blimling said.

Jacobs said veterans are not just accepted into the University because of what they did on the battlefield, but rather on what they are going to do.

“People who are going to do well and will keep doing well. It’s not just what they did but what they are going to do at Rutgers,” he said. “Everyone who is lucky enough to live in a free country deserves to owe it service — everyone.”

George Lisicki, Veterans of Foreign Wars past national commander-in-chief, began his time at the podium with a commemorative moment of silence.

“I would like to hold a silent moment for [those] whose lives were cut short when serving our nation and … the families who have had to carry that burden,” he said. “Every American reaps the benefit of their service. Our nation would have to be defended to survive.”

Lisicki said American veterans protect the 99 percent of the rest of the nation that do not wear uniforms.

“Today, we commemorate the term of sacrifice … and honor the founding fathers of the nation,” he said. “Thousands of the best and brightest are deployed to all corners of the world. … Their pages read the legacy of their importance.”

Lisicki said members of the community should treat veterans with the dignity they deserve.

“Take an active role making sure Congress and administration treat veterans right,” he said. “Veterans love America. Now America needs to love its veterans.”

In celebration of the anniversaries, McCormick sliced a cake, provided by the TV show personality “Cake Boss,” with a sword.

To bring the ceremony to an end, McCormick presented several honored veterans with the Rutgers presidential challenge coin — one side displaying the inscription of the University sigma, the other with his signature.

The presidential coin will also be distributed to graduating ROTC members beginning this spring, he said.