UA to Honor Veterans, Active Military With Events

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama will honor students and individuals who served in the armed forces with a series of activities from Saturday, Nov. 9, to Friday, Nov. 15, including a Veterans Day ceremony.

UA’s Office for Veteran and Military Affairs within Student Services is organizing the event.

The Veterans Day ceremony will be from 11 a.m. to noon Nov. 11 on the UA Quad in front of Gorgas Library. The featured speaker will be retired U.S. Air Force Col. Duane Lamb, UA assistant vice president, facilities and grounds, and it will feature an event naming UA a Purple Heart University.

From 6:30 to 9 p.m.  Nov. 11, UA will honor veterans with an illuminated Walk of Champions event outside the north end of Bryant-Denny Stadium. This event will honor the 6,740 fallen veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars by lighting luminaries for each of them on the Walk of Champions.

The event will feature a roll call of all the fallen Alabama heroes and speeches from veterans and organizations. Funds raised will help establish two new scholarships. The first will be a veteran-specific scholarship, and the second will be a scholarship for dependents of veterans that were killed in action. Questions may be e-mailed to uavma1@gmail.com.

In addition to the Veterans Day ceremony, UA will feature a Battle of the Branches athletic event from Tuesday, Nov. 12, to Friday, Nov. 15. The event is open to everyone.

Individuals may represent a branch of the military in which they served or one of their choosing. Participants may earn points for their branch by participating in such activities as a video game tournament and a cleanup scheduled for the Holt cemetery or by writing letters to active-duty soldiers during the Caring for Camo event.

Organizers will announce the winning branch at a ceremony at 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15, at UA’s B.B. Comer Hall.

Other Veterans Week activities include:

Saturday, Nov. 9: Special Olympics at UA practice fields, 9 to 10:30 a.m.

Sunday, Nov. 10.: Military Appreciation Day at the women’s volleyball game vs. Missouri at 1:30 p.m. Free admission for members of the military and $3 admission for family members.

Monday, Nov. 11: Veterans Day Ceremony in front of Gorgas Library from 11 a.m. to noon, and Walk of Champions at Bryant Denny Stadium at 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 12: Battle of the Branches Game Day from noon to 4 p.m. at B.B. Comer Hall. Also: Caring for Camo, in which participants will write letters to active members of the military, 5 to 7 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 14: Holt Cemetery Clean up from 2 to 5 p.m., transportation provided every hour from 1 B.B. Comer. Also, UA Basketball vs. Texas Tech game at Coleman Coliseum, 8 p.m. Free admission for members of the military with a valid ID and $5 admission for family members.

Friday, Nov. 15: Concluding ceremony of Battle of the Branches, 2 to 4 p.m. in 1 B.B. Comer Hall.

The mission of The Office for Veteran and Military Affairs is to provide, facilitate or coordinate programs and services to meet the special needs of veterans, service members, dependents and survivors to ease their transition to college life and fulfill their educational goals.