Veterans Day commemoration to feature military displays, activities

Oct. 27, 2022 | By Kourtnie Stenwall, communication assistant

Northwest Missouri State University, in collaboration with the Show-Me-Gold program, Missouri Army National Guard and the Student Veteran Association, will commemorate Veterans Day this fall with military exhibits and activities from 7 to 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 11, at the Carl and Cheryl Hughes Fieldhouse.

Above and below, local students participated in Veterans Day activities last year at the Carl and Cheryl Hughes Fieldhouse.

(Northwest Missouri State University photos)

The come-and-go event will feature various stations for attendees to visit. The stations will include a Ruck Pack March, which challenges attendees to walk a lap on the indoor track while wearing a weighted backpack in honor of a veteran. The event also will feature a push-up and pull-up competition, sled relays, military vehicles and free coffee for veterans. Attendees may also write cards of gratitude to military members.

The event is free and open to the public.

“It is always important to continually remember the sacrifices and tribulations that our current veterans have encountered daily,” Capt. James Richardson, officer-in-charge for the Show-Me GOLD Program at Northwest, said. “Our celebration will provide the opportunity for the local community to experience some of the physical demands that our current and past veterans have experienced.”

While Veterans Day is a federal holiday marking the anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I in 1918, thousands of service men and women have called Northwest “home” since the University’s founding in 1905. Some enlisted after coming to Maryville as students or employees, while others enrolled or worked for the University after serving their country.

Today, Northwest is designated as a Military Friendly School, earning the distinction in 2022-23 for the 11th consecutive year, in recognition of its commitment to embracing military service members, veterans and their family members and ensuring their success on campus.

Northwest partners with several veterans organizations and regularly hosts a veterans service officer to assist with filing the VA benefits. Northwest participates in several federal and Missouri state programs such as the GI Bill and Missouri Returning Heroes and offers a variety of scholarships for military personnel and veterans, including a National Guard Scholarship to assist military students with housing. Veterans Commons on the top floor of Valk Center offers veterans a place to gather, study, network and interact with Show-Me-Gold personnel and students.

Students, alumni, employees and community members also have donated and supported a variety of memorials on the Northwest campus to honor United States service men and women. Northwest maintains a World War I Memorial Plaza and a Persian Gulf War Memorial on the campus grounds as well as its Wall of Honor in Veterans Commons. The University’s Bell of ’48 and the Memorial Bell Tower are centerpieces of the campus, while the Navy V-5/V-12 Combat Information Center in Bearcat Stadium also pays tribute to veterans.