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News Editor: Heather Bair – zzzx@iup.edu
(Josh Rupeka - Heather Bair/The Penn)
IUP’s ROTC is located next to Davis Hall on campus.
Veterans Day honors those who fought for their country HEATHER BAIR News Editor zzzx@iup.edu @ThePennIUP RACHEL FOOR Staff Writer myjv@iup.edu @ThePennIUP IUP remembers those who have lost their lives and those who continue to serve. During a normal year, IUP would hold a lunch or dinner for veterans, However, due to COVID-19, a virtual event will be hosted by the Military and Veteran’s Resource Center (MVRC). The event is Friday from noon to 2 p.m. There is hope of holding a dinner once restrictions are lifted. The virtual event will include opening remarks and a video giving thanks to IUP’s veterans and service members. Members of the community will then give presentations on the services that are offered to veterans. Cory Shay, director of the MVRC, will give updates on changes that have taken place regarding GI benefits and the MVRC. “As a veteran and a person who works with veterans,” Shay said, “Veterans Day for me is always an opportunity just to say thank you
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The Vietnam Veterans Memorial erected in 1982. for those who have served in the military. “Any student who attends will put into a drawing for a prize pack from the MVRC and will receive an RSVP for when we do the dinner,” he said. Following these events, the floor will be opened to anyone wishing to make comments or ask questions. Ninety-one military reservists from Indiana County recently returned home from a war zone in Afghanistan. Their deployment came in January amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran. According to WTAE, the soldiers of the 420th Engineer Company of the Army Reserve were tasked with making sure supply lines remained
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open and traffic could travel smoothly in the region. The deployment was expected to be for one year but lasted 10 months instead. To welcome the reservists home, the sheriff’s office is organizing a Veterans Day event outside the Indiana Courthouse Nov. 11 beginning at 11 a.m. “I am not sure if any IUP students were deployed in that unit,” Shay said. “But in any given year, usually a half dozen to a dozen IUP students are called to active duty.” IUP has previously been nationally recognized for its efforts to assist students with military service experience. “We welcome those soldiers back home to Indiana,” Shay said.
November 11, 2020
“Women and men who took an oath to protect the Constitution of the United States, and who gave up their rights to defend the rights of Americans.” In 1982, the IUP Veterans Club and military science department designed and built a Vietnam Veterans Memorial on campus. The memorial was dedicated Nov. 11, 1982, and was supported by President John E. Worthen along with university administrators, according to a bulletin of the service.
Robert Gault, a marine veteran and past president of the IUP Veterans Club originally came up with the idea of a memorial. Gault went to student veterans with the idea as well as the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. (ROTC) department and Worthen. The memorial is one of three on IUP’s campus. The other is a monument located
outside IUP’s Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) building. This monument, called “Answering the Call,” was erected Nov. 11, 2018. It honors veterans who fought in Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. “Answering the Call” was commissioned by IUP’s honor fraternity, Rho Tau Chi, which has active members as well as IUP ROTC cadets. IUP also has a 9/11 memorial located in the Oak Grove beside Sutton Hall and the Patrick J. Stapleton University Library. The memorial features a 13-foot remnant of the World Trade Center. There is also a stone with a plaque in it, commemorating the area and reminding those of when a plane went down in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, roughly an hour from Indiana. The IUP ROTC has two phases for those who join. The first phase, The Basic Course, is usually taken during the freshman and sophomore years of college. The Advance Course is usually taken in the junior and senior years and focuses on tactical operations and military instruction. There is also a minor offered in Military Leadership that is available for all graduates of IUP’s Army ROTC Program. For those looking to join, you can call 1-800-IUP-ROTC.
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