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Boise State honors veterans
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They commit to serve. They fight. Some come home, and some pay the ultimate sacrifice. Boise State University wants to honor all of them.
On Tuesday, Veterans Day, Boise State officially opened its new Veterans Memorial. The memorial is called “Salute” and was designed by Kay Kirkpatrick.
Britton Holdaway is a former student who put into motion the actions necessary to build the memorial. In a speech, he talked about why the memorial is so important to him.
“Although the circumstances of our gathering today are substantially less dramatic than what [George] Washington faced so many years ago,” he said, “like that great patriot we make our presence known to demonstrate our dedication to the ideas and ideals of our great civilization, and to ensure they are not easily pushed aside by the pressures of the moment.”
He also said, however, this memorial is only that – a memorial. It is not the end of thanks to America’s veterans.
“This memorial is not the ultimate showing of our gratitude to those who have served our country. Rather, it is but a beacon that guides us in honoring them through our choices and through our actions,” Holdaway said. “In its purest form, gratitude for those who have grown gray and almost blind in the service of their country is shown by our jealous love for the principles for which they sacrificed.”
Boise State student and veteran of the Iraq war Elizabeth Lahny also spoke at the memorial dedication.
“I am extremely thankful for the chance to be here today, to stand before you, to honor the veterans who are no longer with us,” she said. “We are also celebrating the veterans who are still here. We are in your classrooms. We are your coworkers, your friends and your family.”
Lahny said the memorial reminds her that she is not forgotten.
ASBSU Senate Pro Temp and Sgt. Joel Henretty said he is also thankful for the memorial.
Henretty is a member of the 1-183rd Aviation Battalion of the Idaho Army National Guard. He was stationed along the southeast border of Afghanistan and Pakistan from February 2006 to February 2007 as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
“One of the most substantial impacts of my life was serving overseas,” he said, noting the Afghan people, “have been ready to receive their God-given, inalienable rights for far too long.”
Henretty also talked about what the memorial meant to him.
“This memorial is a tribute to the courage of the thousands who have put their lives on hold, so that when they return to their ‘normal’ lives they might return to a life just as they left it,” he said. “Furthermore, for those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice, this memorial will bear witness that their absolute dedication to their country has not been in vain.”
Other speakers included Vice President of Student Affairs Michael Laliberte and Student Union Director Jack Rahmann.
“Salute” is outside the northeast entrance to the Student Union Building. It is open to all Boise State students and the greater Boise community.
Speeches*************
Michael Laliberte, Vice President of Student Affairs
November 11, 2008
Veteran’s Memorial Dedication
Hello everyone. My name is Michael Laliberte, and as the Vice President for Student Affairs, I would like to welcome you and thank you all for attending this important occasion honoring our United States veterans. President Kustra does wish that he was here, as well, however he is out of town this week and sends his regards. Trevor Grigg, the President of the Associated Students of Boise State University joins me to welcome you.
With the completion and dedication of “Salute”, our new memorial sculpture, Boise State University is proud to see this visual statement being made to our students, faculty, staff, alumni and visitors. Boise State is committed to recognizing, honoring and commemorating all veterans on our growing campus. As the Student Union Building becomes more of a geographical, social and cultural focal point, evidenced by the construction before you, we hope that the impact of such a visually moving exhibit will touch many lives and give us pause to consider the sacrifices and service our veterans have made for us and for our country.
Today’s event has been made possible by many individuals and we thank them for their contribution:
Ms. Kay Kirkpatrick, the sculpture artist
Donor – Mr. Dale Fackler
Donor – Mrs. Irena Facklerova
Donor – Associated Students of Boise State University
Veteran’s Day Committee
Student Union Building (SUB)
Fine Arts Program at the SUB
Student Union Art Advisory Board
Boise State’s Division of Finance & Administration
Boise State’s Office of Architectural & Engineering Services
The Division of Public Works
Kriezenbeck Construction
B & B Steel Erectors
Idaho Army National Guard based at Gowen Field
and
Boise State University ROTC
I’d like to point out that our installation is not at this point complete. Once installed, you will see this plaque that recognizes the significant monetary donations of The Facklers and of the Associated Students of Boise State University. We will also be installing this plaque recognizing the artist Kay Kirkpatrick for her artistic expression of “Salute”.
With the troubled economy and the passage this summer of a new G.I. bill that significantly increases the educational benefits veterans receive, colleges and universities all across the country expect to see a large number of vets returning to school to pursue a college education. That will be especially true at Boise State with our close proximity to the National Guard, Mountain Home Air Force base and the Veterans Affairs hospital. Veterans are coming and we are ready for them. This university is already home to approximately 1700 veterans, with over 700 of them studying here on the GI Bill. The Division of Student Affairs and our academic partners are committed to ensuring Boise State University is ready to serve these students when they are ready to enroll.
Many of our veterans know and interact with Mr. RK Williams, Boise State University’s Veteran Coordinator. RK is unable to attend this dedication today because he is in Washington, D.C. this week lobbying and providing critical counsel and feedback to the leadership of the Department of Veterans Affairs on the implementation of the new Montgomery GI Bill, which will go into affect this coming Fall of ‘09.
RK is a veteran, having spent his military career in the Air Force, and continues to serve his country and our students as president of NAVPA, the National Association of Veterans Programs Administrators. This national association works hand-in-hand with the VA to help student veterans with their benefits and we are fortunate to have RK serve as an advocate and voice of our many service men and women on this campus.
The dedication of this memorial is a tangible and important step in our desire and commitment to help returning veterans bridge the gap between their military life experiences with campus life. Some institutions fail to consider the special circumstances and experiences our military personnel bring, particularly those whose lives have changed dramatically because of their combat experience. At Boise State University we recognize the level of maturity, discipline, leadership and determination they bring to campus. We welcome these veterans and will help them to feel at home here by continuing to provide the support services they need to make a successful transition and persist in their academic studies.
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Honoring Those Who Grow Gray and Almost Blind in the Service of Our Country
Britton J. Holdaway 11 November 2008
Not long after the Continental victory in the Revolution, the future of America literally teetered on disaster. Forgotten and unpaid, officers of the Revolutionary army gathered to discuss a military solution to their problems. As an uninvited and unwelcomed guest, General Washington pleaded with the men to forget their ideas of insurrection; he vainly appealed to their higher sense of duty and station. Determined on their course, not a single man gave heed to his implorations. In a final act of desperation, Washington decided to read a letter from a member of congress who was aware of their troubles. He paused before reading the letter, however, and then pulled out a pair of spectacles-something he had never done in public. “Gentlemen,” he said, “you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for I have not only grown gray but almost blind in the service of my country.” The officers were speechless. That unadorned gesture was more powerful than any oration, and to the man they were reminded what they had fought for and why. That unadorned gesture of a devoted patriot saved our country for his and our generation, and all those in between.
Before the time of Washington, and since, our country has been saved by devoted patriots; men and women who wear our uniform; who place our liberty above their own lives; who in their own way grow gray and almost blind in the service of their country. To those who ask where the inspiration came for the reconstruction of this university’s veterans’ memorial, I tell you to look no further than those patriots-our veterans past, present, and future. It was with their memory in mind that I and two other student leaders brought this project before the university’s administration, and with them worked to see it through to completion.
We are here to commemorate the completion of that project. Although the circumstances of our gathering today are substantially less dramatic than what Washington faced so many years ago, like that great patriot we make our presence known to demonstrate our dedication to the ideas and ideals of our great civilization, and to ensure they are not easily pushed aside by the pressures of the moment. We achieve that certainty through what this memorial represents. It represents opportunity. It represents unity. It represents beauty. This memorial represents a physical manifestation of our indebtedness to our veterans. To this effect, Webster said, “Our object is, by this edifice, to show our own deep sense of the value and importance of the achievements of our ancestors.”
This veterans’ memorial is important because it reminds us continually to reflect not just on the accomplishments of our patriots, but also on why they sacrificed to make those accomplishments. William Jackman said it well that “while we dwell with pardonable pride upon the history of our country, [we should] recall with admiration the stern and simple virtues of those who made that history, and revere in silent thought the great patriot who led in [the] struggle.” This memorial is important, because it not only helps us to recall those virtues, but to give thanks to those who defend them.
This memorial is not the ultimate showing of our gratitude to those who have served our country; rather, it is but a beacon that guides us in honoring them through our choices and through our actions. In its purest form, gratitude for those who have grown gray and almost blind in the service of their country is shown by our jealous love for the principles for which they sacrificed.
Over two hundred years ago, our ancestors overcame the challenges of their day, and in so doing have given us their own memorials, as have those who have followed, even to the streets of Baghdad or the mountains of Afghanistan. Today, we gather to remember those memorials and to give our own to those patriots. Much like the unadorned gesture of General Washington, we make our statement with this simple but powerful edifice. To Leah Barrett, past Director of the Student Union Building, I say thank you for listening to the voice of the students and allowing this memorial to be rebuilt. To Holly Gilchrist, Student Union Fine Arts Manager, I thank you for your guidance in this project from inception to construction. To Kay Kirkpatrick, the artist of this memorial, I say thank you for your imagination that gave shape to this incredible tribute. To Dale Fackler, the force behind the first memorial and donor for its reconstruction, I thank you for your support, your stories, and your original vision. To everyone else who has had a hand in the re-creation of this memorial, I say thank you for your help in making the completion of this project possible. And finally, to those who have grown gray and almost blind in the service of our country, I say thank you; thank you for your dedication, your sacrifice, and your example. It is with your memory in mind that we dedicate this memorial to our patriots-our veterans-past, present, and future.
COLBY STREAM
News/BizTech Editor
