STEUBENVILLE, OHIO—Franciscan University unveiled a new memorial plaque and dedicated its Veterans Memorial Flagpole on Friday, November 11, in a Veterans Day ceremony.

More than 100 students, alumni, and veterans gathered outside on a chilly November morning to dedicate the new memorial. Present were veterans of a number of wars and foreign conflicts, including the Vietnam, Korean, Afghanistan, and Iraqi Wars.

Chris Ice, director of major gifts at Franciscan, gave the opening remarks. The son of a World War II veteran and the grandson of a World War I veteran, Ice expressed his deep gratitude for all the veterans present.

“They were young men who gave up two lives: the one they were living and the one they could have lived,” Ice said.

After Ice’s remarks, the Color Guard of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 232 from Amsterdam, Ohio, performed the presenting of the colors.

Senior voice major Madeleine Appleby sang the National Anthem and Franciscan ROTC cadets raised the American flag. Father Dan Pattee, TOR, alumni chaplain, offered a blessing, praying a Veterans Day prayer that said in part, “God of justice and truth, Rock of our lives, bless all our veterans.”

Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity spearheaded the memorial’s construction. Ray Challis ’67 and Dan Schmidt ’67, members of Tau Kappa Epsilon and graduates of the College of Steubenville (now Franciscan University of Steubenville), offered memorial remarks.

“It is fitting that this memorial stands at a college that was formed to educate veterans in 1946,” Challis said.

Schmidt added, “This memorial invokes thoughts of freedom, but we know that freedom isn’t free. We come to pay homage with the utmost humility . . . to those who served.”

Challis and Schmidt then unveiled a new memorial plaque at the base of the flagpole, commemorating generations of Franciscan University students and alumni who were veterans.

Father Pattee read the roll call of Franciscan students and alumni killed in action, after which the VFW effected a 21-gun salute in memoriam.

Tom Clasby, president of Franciscan’s Alumni Association and a member of the Class of 1995, shared a story about traveling to Washington, D.C., with a number of combat veterans to attend the opening of a similar memorial for veterans. He said the veterans experienced a solidarity with each other, and they “exchanged sometimes a handshake, more often a hug, and many, many tears.”

Clasby said that sand from Normandy was placed in the base of the flagpole. A World War II veteran gifted the sand to Franciscan “to make sure the base was strong,” Clasby said. “No doubt it is.”

Franciscan freshman Mike Martin, himself a veteran, said, “I enjoyed seeing the contrast between the generations of veterans, from Korea and Vietnam to more recent combat.”

Father Pattee concluded the ceremony by reading “The Last Soldier” prayer. “When the last soldier passes on, when the uniforms are retired and the final grave filled, we will remember all who served and sacrificed for our nation.”

The memorial, located across the street from Ss. Louis and Elizabeth Halls, consists of two rounded benches encircling a new flagpole and the newly unveiled memorial plaque at the flagpole’s base.