The St. Bonaventure Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program celebrated Veteran’s Day with a week of events leading up to the holiday.
First, on Monday, Nov. 5, ROTC cadets traveled to a veteran’s home in Bath, New York, one of the oldest in the nation. On Tuesday, the program sent a color guard to Allegany-Limestone High School and taught students how to respect the American flag. They then raised the flag at Jamestown Community College in Olean on Wednesday.
The week continued with two weekend events, the first being a Veteran’s Day ceremony in the McGinley-Carney Center for Franciscan Ministry’s Great Room on Friday, Nov. 9.
Current ROTC students, along with student veterans and alumni of the program, gathered to recognize current and past veterans at SBU.
“Veteran’s Day is to honor the fallen, but also to involve those who continue to serve,” said Captain David Endter, an ROTC instructor at SBU. “A ceremony about veterans is a good way for people to show support for the program because the cadets who are training now are the future veterans.”
The names of 51 St. Bonaventure veterans who have given their lives in combat were listed in on the inside of the event’s program. Included were veterans of World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the War in Afghanistan.
These same 51 names can be found on the university’s veterans monument located outside the west end of the Reilly Center.
“We had pictures of the monument and we read every single name on it,” said sophomore ROTC cadet Zach Stryffeler. “We talked about the Bonaventure ROTC Hall of Fame and all of the generals that have gone through here.”
Stryffeler, who emceed the event, said he enjoyed getting to see the gathering of student veterans.
“It was pretty neat to see how many veterans are actually in the Bonaventure community,” he said. “You may see them walking around, but not many people know that they’re veterans. It was nice to honor them.”
The week of events concluded Sunday, Nov. 11, when every ROTC cadet stood at attention while the bells of the University Chapel rang for five consecutive minutes before mass.
The ringing of the bells at the 11th hour marked the 100-year anniversary of the World War I armistice.
Captain Endter said he was impressed by the number of people that attended the university’s events.
“It’s very humbling to see civilians come up and show their support,” he said. “It’s very appreciated, especially on a big landmark like this year with it being 100 years since the armistice.”
Stryffeler added to that point, saying that the support from veterans and the Bonaventure community is inspiring to him.
“Someday, I want to have that legacy of service,” he said. “It reminds me why I chose to do this.”
By Jeff Uveino, Staff Writer
uveinojj17@bonaventure.edu
