With Veterans Day next week, the annual Gold Star Hall ceremony is also scheduled to honor the memory of Iowa State University students who died while serving our country in the military.
Megan Moore, a marketing specialist at the ISU Memorial Union, says the patriotic program will include stories about each veteran’s courage, service and sacrifices.
“It’s a wonderful ceremony. We are honored to have family members of our honorees here in person,” Moore says. “This year we are honoring George Clark, who is a World War II US Army Air Corps veteran, and he is from Conrad, Iowa.”
Organizers say Gold Star Hall connects current students with former students as a living memorial. A total of four veterans will be spotlighted at the solemn service this year.
“Russell Trenary is also a World War II veteran from Platteville, Wisconsin, and he served in the U.S. Army. We’re also honoring Richard Swift, who is a Vietnam veteran. He was in the U.S. Air Force, and he is originally from Des Moines,” Moore says, “and then Richard Welch, who is a Vietnam veteran, and he is from Knoxville, Iowa.”
A team from ISU does extensive research on each of the veterans being featured, including their academic pursuits and other accomplishments.
“We read the narratives of our honorees and these service members and get to learn more about their stories here at Iowa State and then their lives as they were growing up. It’s a wonderful ceremony and a wonderful way to honor our Iowa State students.”
The annual Gold Star Hall ceremony is scheduled for 4:15 PM on Monday (November 9th) at the Memorial Union on the Ames campus. The ceremony will be streamed live on ISU’s YouTube page.
