Ceremony pays homage to fallen troops
College President James Wright was presented with an American flag at the conclusion of a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday.
By Ann Baum, The Dartmouth Staff
Published on Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The barbecue held at Beta Alpha Omega fraternity on Monday was a little different than those hosted at other venues on campus; the attendees were largely veterans, many of whom had served in Iraq.
“It’s certainly a different crowd,” Thomas Richardson ’11, who served in the Marine Corps from 2002 to 2006, said.
The event was hosted in conjunction with the Dartmouth Undergraduate Veterans Association, which held the second annual Memorial Day flag ceremony on the Green after the barbecue.
“[Memorial Day] is significant to all veterans — all of us knew somebody that died,” DUVA president Michael Stinetorf ’11 said. “[The barbecue] was something that needed to be done.”
Stinetorf served in Iraq before coming to Dartmouth.
“Memorial Day, for me at least, is first and foremost about the fallen,” said Gregory Agron ’11, a veteran who served from 2002 to 2006 and has been deployed twice to Iraq and once to southeast Asia.
Everyone steps back during the course of the day and remembers the soldiers who did not survive, he said.
“I knew guys from my unit who didn’t come back,” Richardson said.
Many of the veterans present at the event have lost friends, which gives Memorial Day a special meaning for them, College President James Wright said. Wright, a former Marine, has worked to facilitate veterans’ education.
“I’m just delighted to have this group of veterans here,” Wright said. “They add so much to campus.”
Several of the veterans recalled their personal interactions with Wright. One veteran, Samuel Crist ’10, said he met Wright while in the hospital. Wright was distributing contact information and encouraging veterans to attend Dartmouth, Crist said. Crist served in the Marine Corps from 2004 to 2005 and was deployed to Iraq.
“Once [veterans] are accepted [to the College], there’s a warm, welcoming feeling from the administration,” Agron said.
As the sun set on the Green and the stars and stripes flapped in the wind, the veterans paid respects to the fallen.
Wright was presented with the American flag.