Jackson State University cadets along with active and retired service members gathered on Veterans Day to reflect on sacrifices made by military personnel of past and present, including remembering comrades who paid the ultimate price defending the country.
Wednesday’s annual event in the Student Center was sponsored by JSU’s Veterans and Military Center, the Division of Academic and Student Affairs and the College of Public Service.
Keynote speaker Dr. Martha McRavin-Oliver, a retired U.S. Army colonel, acknowledged cadets, veterans and relatives of service members.
Despite efforts by organizations, institutions and other establishments to give credence to Veterans Day, McRavin-Oliver still questions whether everyone knows why the occasion is celebrated.
“Surprisingly in 2015, there are more people who still think veterans are males who have served in one of the five branches of the service; those who served for a few years and who have fought in a war; and those who were wounded or may have died,” she said.
McRavin-Oliver said that’s only half of the story.
“A veteran is a person who serves in peace time or war time. A veteran knows no boundaries for defending our country and individual freedoms. He or she is willing to leave their families for months and sometimes years at a time. A veteran is unafraid to lay down his or her life for the assurance that each of us, both young and old – all Americans – can sleep peacefully and safely at night. Veterans bravely answer the call to defend our freedom, to aid our friends and allies around the world and to turn back oppressors who threaten our democracy.”
The retired officer said the price of freedom is not free and that veterans deserve our country’s respect.
“We can never fully repay our debt of gratitude to the hundreds of thousands of American servicewomen and servicemen who died in battle or the millions who were wounded. To properly honor our dead, we must also honor our living,” McRavin-Oliver said.
Dr. Timothy Abrams, director of JSU’s military center who also served as a U.S. Army captain, said, “We must always remember our veterans because they are the reason we enjoy freedom today.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Evelyn Leggette, provost and senior vice president for Academic and Student Affairs, said, “We are pleased to honor and recognize our veterans for the service they rendered to our country and borders beyond.”
While noting JSU’s history of student success, Leggette also said the university is committed to veterans, too.
“JSU is developing a program called Credit for Prior Learning,” she said. The initiative will enable veterans who earned experiences elsewhere or started academic programs at other institutions to earn up to 30 credit hours to apply toward a degree at JSU, said Leggette, hailing the university’s distinction once again as a military-friendly institution.
“We salute you. This is your day,” she said.
Citing the 25 millions veterans still living today (more than 220,000 in Mississippi), McRavin-Oliver asked, “What can you do to acknowledge and thank a veteran?”
She said, “On any given day, meet a veteran with a smile and a handshake and say thank you for your service; ask them how they’re doing; go visit a veteran who is home-bound, in hospitals or nursing homes and remember homeless veterans. … They are not homeless by choice but by circumstance.”
Finally, McRavin-Oliver urged those with authority to hire a veteran because “they are leaders and managers. The military trains and educates veterans well, giving them unlimited ability and expertise.”
