 "Photo: IAN GAVLICK/The Observer")
The Clarke Memorial Fountain, popularly known as Stonehenge, took on a more solemn meaning to passers-by Tuesday when Notre Dame’s ROTC placed four members in military uniforms around the monument at 5 p.m. to begin its 24-hour vigil in remembrance of the nation’s veterans.
Cadets and midshipmen from the Army, Air Force and Navy ROTC programs have been rotating half hour shifts, keeping a constant guard in groups of four until the official Veterans Day ceremony commences today at 5 p.m. In sum, about 180 cadets will participate in the vigil, senior cadet Scott Vitter said. He also explained the motivation for today’s events.
“The purpose of the ceremony is to honor and to remember all veterans of the U.S. armed forces with an emphasis on those veterans who are affiliated with Notre Dame,” he said. “We will be remembering all veterans with particular stories of Notre Dame graduates, graduates who have performed, done heroic acts in the service their country.”
In the aftermath of the shooting rampage at the army base in Fort Hood, Texas, in which relatives of the suspect say he was mortified by the idea of his pending deployment to Afghanistan, the day has special meaning for junior cadet Colin Raymond.
“I think that it’s particularly relevant to remember those who have to serve overseas in light of what happened at Fort Hood,” he said. “I think it’s important for people to take a moment and recognize the sacrifice the men and women in the armed services make on a day-to-day basis. I think it’s particularly important in light of those events.”
In past years, Vitter said, veterans have approached him on campus to express gratitude for his commitment to serve in the army.
“It’s a really nice gesture, and it makes all members of ROTC feel great about the choice they made to join the armed forces,” he said. “At the same time, it drives home the fact that we’re at Notre Dame. We’re students and though we’ve signed up to help our country, we have not done that yet.”
Since joining Army ROTC, sophomore cadet Griffin Bonnema said the meaning of Veterans Day has changed for him. He said it has focused his attention on the sacrifices of veterans and led to a feeling of unity with them.
“When you’re in the military setting, it kind of brings [the sacrifices] to your attention,” he said of the holiday. “These people are like kinsmen, you can hold a lot more respect than you would without it.”
Vitter said for him the day highlighted the contrast between the combat experience of veterans and ROTC members’ more abstract understanding of war.
“The day is a lot more pertinent, now that I’ve been in ROTC,” he said. “I’ve made some contact in the actual army and it causes me to think about their commitment and their sacrifice in a more realistic way, it seems. And it highlights that one day soon, I will, and if not me, my classmates will be considered veterans too in the near future.”
For Raymond, Veterans Day has also taken on a more concrete meaning, as ROTC members will become commissioned officers upon graduation.
“I think the immediacy of the commissioning gives the cadets a greater sense of what it means to be a veteran, not that we’re there yet,” he said. “I think we’re constantly reminded of what lies ahead.”
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Army '84, Disabled Vet