Furman holds first Veteran's Day commemoration in five years
By: Connie Ding
Issue date: 11/20/09 Section: News
The sound of cannon fire rang clearly along the length of Furman Mall at around 5:00 p.m. on Nov. 11, 2009. As veterans and other spectators surrounded the flagpole in front of the Herman W. Lay Physical Activities Center for the formal ceremony, cadets of the Furman United States Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps lowered the American flag.
This was just one aspect of many of the Veterans Day Retreat Ceremony, the first observance of its kind on campus since the 2004 rededication of the Doughboy Monument, which is located near Paladin Stadium.
"We do it not to glorify war…but rather to honor the sacrifice that young people make," said Lt. Col. Bill Price, the Battalion Executive Officer of Furman's military science department.
The ceremony was originally planned to take place at the Doughboy Monument. Poor weather caused it to be moved to the Charles E. Daniel Memorial Chapel.
The weather did not diminish the effect of reading the names of Furman casualties from World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
"I thought it was really moving. It really got to me when they were reading out the names and [when] they did Taps," said Brittany Weynand, a freshman from Boerne, Texas.
Other facets of the Veterans Day ceremony included an invocation and a benediction from Furman Chaplain Vaughn Crowe-Tipton and a guest speech by retired Lt. Col. Stephen Shivers. The Columbia Flying Artillery, a historical preservation and reenactment group, provided the cannon fire of the ceremony.
The Doughboy Monument was recast in bronze in 2004 after its previous incarnation had been vandalized and damaged over the years. The statue was formerly located at the traffic circle near the entrance to Swamp Rabbit Trail and across from the Facilities Services building.
This was just one aspect of many of the Veterans Day Retreat Ceremony, the first observance of its kind on campus since the 2004 rededication of the Doughboy Monument, which is located near Paladin Stadium.
"We do it not to glorify war…but rather to honor the sacrifice that young people make," said Lt. Col. Bill Price, the Battalion Executive Officer of Furman's military science department.
The ceremony was originally planned to take place at the Doughboy Monument. Poor weather caused it to be moved to the Charles E. Daniel Memorial Chapel.
The weather did not diminish the effect of reading the names of Furman casualties from World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
"I thought it was really moving. It really got to me when they were reading out the names and [when] they did Taps," said Brittany Weynand, a freshman from Boerne, Texas.
Other facets of the Veterans Day ceremony included an invocation and a benediction from Furman Chaplain Vaughn Crowe-Tipton and a guest speech by retired Lt. Col. Stephen Shivers. The Columbia Flying Artillery, a historical preservation and reenactment group, provided the cannon fire of the ceremony.
The Doughboy Monument was recast in bronze in 2004 after its previous incarnation had been vandalized and damaged over the years. The statue was formerly located at the traffic circle near the entrance to Swamp Rabbit Trail and across from the Facilities Services building.