Faculty and veterans gathered at the West campus Sunday at 2 p.m. to honor those who have died in service since 2011.
The Student Veterans Organization of ASU celebrated the opening of the Remembering Our Fallen exhibit inside Fletcher Library that honors local veterans who have died overseas.
Remembering Our Fallen is a traveling exhibit with giant pictures of local heroes who have passed in the war and short stories about them, along with places for spectators to leave notes honoring their service and thanking them for their sacrifice.
Vice Provost of the West campus Joseph Carter said everyone was gathered there to honor and remember people who have given their lives in service of the United States.
“All through our history they have defended freedom, our freedom, but much more than that their sacrifice has given us hope, hope in what this country stands for and what we believe to be true,” he said.
Student Veterans Organization teaches ASU students critically important lessons such as love of country, sacrifice, honor and service, Carter said.
“Those are lessons that don’t just come out of the sky or you find out from watching television," Carter said. "They learn by example and they learn by what this veteran’s organization has done and is doing for our campus."
Terrorism abroad and locally has made Americans question the integrity, future and importance of the U.S., Carter said.
“The sacrifice these young men and women have made on our behalf has reaffirmed hope,” Carter said. “It demonstrates to us that what this country believes in, what it is founded upon, is still strong and true."
Shaun Valentine, president of the Student Veterans Organization at the West campus, said successfully obtaining the Remembering Our Fallen exhibit is important, because it will show those who aren't in the military the ultimate sacrifice soldiers make to ensure their freedom.
“What we realize as people of this society is that this does come to a cost to us, Valentine said. “That cost is our brothers, it’s our fathers, it’s our sisters, it’s our wives, it’s our family members and friends, somebody that we know or somebody that we may not know."
Setting up this memorial exhibit is a great way to honor the soldiers who have passed, Valentine said.
“It was once said, ‘Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for another,’ and that’s exactly what these people have done,” Valentine said.“They answered the call of duty, they went and they served, they did what they were supposed to and some of them had to pay the ultimate price for it."
Air Force veteran Krystal Chambers, a global leadership major, said the exhibit will open people’s eyes to the different branches of the military and the number of men and women who have died during service.
“As a veteran, I think it is important for people to put a face out there in order to bring home the fact that we have had so many veterans pass away and give the ultimate sacrifice,” Chambers said. “It is important that people understand and feel the gravity of what we’re doing as veterans and as active duty members, and keeping it local definitely pulls the heart strings."
Reach the reporter at acataruz@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @AleksCatz
