In Both Word and Deed

MTSU’s annual Salute to Veterans and Armed Forces game honors those who have served. photo by Cat Curtis Murphy

The halftime parade recognizes veterans and military members. photo by Cat Curtis Murphy

With every passing year, MTSU’s salute to service weekend keeps getting bigger and better by Randy Weiler

Each year, the Daniels Center, in conjunction with MTSU football, hosts the Salute to Veterans and Armed Services activities as a way to pay tribute to U.S. veterans and current active-duty personnel. The day consists of a veterans’ memorial service, picnic, Vets Village, Dr. Joe Nunley Award, and halftime salute parade. Highlights of a recent Salute weekend included: • Two Tennessee Army National Guard helicopters landed one by one on the MTSU football practice field on Nov. 16, 2019, stirring up grass, dirt, and debris and prompting children to scream with delight and start running excitedly in all directions. • A special game ball delivery by the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne

Division and the Tennessee National Guard’s B Company, 1-230th Assault Helicopter Battalion/Army Aviation Support Facility No. 3 from Jackson,

Tennessee, took place just before kickoff. • Songwriter Steve Dean of Goodlettsville performed “Screaming Eagle,” a song he co-wrote with the late Blake Pickel, an MTSU alumnus who died in September after survival training exercises, bringing tears to the MTSU Veterans Memorial Service audience. Terra Pickel, of Cleveland, Tennessee, was moved by the special tribute to her husband, who already had been an Army medic and who graduated in May 2017 from MTSU and was commissioned as a second lieutenant through MTSU’s ROTC program. She was joined by their daughters, Taygen, 9, and Adalyn, 4, and over 20 other family members at the ceremony. “It’s really great to know his school cared,” Terra Pickel said. “The song meant a great deal to me. They did a really great job” with the ceremony. • And, with pride, MTSU alumnus Don Witherspoon (’64) accepted the Nunley

Award, presented by Nunley’s daughter, Jeana (Nunley) Goodwin (’76). Hundreds of veterans, their family members, and active-duty military turned out for the 38th annual Salute to Veterans and Armed Forces activities that Saturday on the MTSU campus. It is an annual tradition capped off by the Band of Blue’s halftime performance— playing the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, and Navy anthems as veterans from the respective branches march across midfield. Alumnus Bob Hardison (’67) of Huntsville, Alabama, who served in the Army’s field artillery, said “it’s nice to be recognized” during the halftime medley by the Band of Blue. He attended with his wife, Linda Lou Hardison.

True Blue Traditions

MTSU, now in partnership with the Daniels Center, annually hosts three special events geared towards veterans and student veterans that further emphasize the University’s deep commitment to its military legacy.

Jordan McCall Sr., vocational rehabilitation counselor, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs

Salute to Veterans and Armed Forces Football Game

Since 1982, MTSU has dedicated a football game annually to thank service members in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard for their sacrifices for Americans’ freedom. The Salute to Veterans and Armed Services game activities include a memorial service, picnic, Vet Village, Joe Nunley Award ceremony, children’s toy collection, and halftime parade across Horace Jones Field—all paying tribute to veterans and active-duty personnel.

U.S. Marine Corps veteran Don Witherspoon (‘64) accepts the Dr. Joe Nunley Award during MTSU’s 38th Salute to Veterans and Armed Forces Nov. 16, 2019.

9/11 Remembrance Memorial

A ceremony is held on campus at the Veterans Memorial each year to commemorate the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Graduating Veterans Stole Ceremony

MTSU senior Jackie Evans, of Brentwood, Tennessee, receives the Journey Award from David Corlew with The Journey Home Project in August 2018 at the 11th Graduating Veterans Stole Ceremony.

HOME OF THE BRAVO

The Blue Raider American Veteran Organization (BRAVO) was founded in 2008 to act as a voice for veterans’ issues at MTSU. Since its inception, BRAVO has been involved in changes to campus policy that have increased veteran services. These include veteran-focused classes, early registration for veterans, a military center, and the approval of a Veterans and Military Affairs Committee. Among its ranks, BRAVO boasts veterans from several different military generations (Afghanistan, Iraq, Gulf, Vietnam) and multiple services. Some members are still in the National Guard and reserve units of multiple branches of the armed forces. Membership includes students, faculty, and alumni, as well as supporters from the community. BRAVO’s mission is to provide an inclusive student organization for veterans in and out of the military and to offers networking and organizes social and service events, extend veteran-specific services, and advocate on behalf of student veterans. The MTSU organization is a chapter member of the national Student Veterans of America and works to coordinate with other veterans’ groups from around the region. The group is for veterans and supporters connected to MTSU, and anyone can join. BRAVO is actively looking for veterans, family members of vets, and anyone who supports the military to join. It’s also open to alumni veterans.

Ways to Support BRAVO

Make gifts online at mtsu.edu/supportMT. Click on the button titled: Select the fund(s) for your gift. Under College, choose Liberal Arts. In the Additional Comments box, please identify the BRAVO fund to which you are donating.

Checks should be made to the MTSU Foundation with a note on the memo line that names the BRAVO fund. Mail to:

Office of Development MTSU Box 109 Murfreesboro, TN 37132

ROTC ROLL CALL

We invite those just starting out on their academic journey to visit the Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center. Stop by and see us.

And for those that have graduated and gone on to careers, it’s time to come home. Drop in and let’s catch up.

mtsu.edu/arotc1 615-898-2470

Army ROTC is a college elective you take with your other college courses.

ROTC offers you the opportunity to

• learn self-discipline and study skills • make lifelong relationships • challenge yourself physically and mentally • develop confidence to succeed anywhere