Veterans Memorial Lounge in the CU Boulder University Memorial Center
CU Boulder will honor the nation's veterans, including CU Boulder's own student, staff and faculty veterans, with a Veteran's Day ceremony at 11 a.m. Nov. 10 in the University Memorial Center's Glenn Miller Ballroom and during the Nov. 11 CU vs. USC football game.
The UMC event will feature Rear Admiral Rick Snyder, United States Navy, and the CU Boulder Joint ROTC Color Guard. The ceremony will be followed by a reception. New artifacts from the USS Colorado also will be on display.
On Saturday, Nov. 11, CU will host the USC Trojans at the Veteran Appreciation football game. Kickoff is at 2 p.m. at Folsom Field. The game will include:
- Recognition of WWII veterans.
- An oath of enlistment ceremony of 20 joint-service recruits on the football field by the commanding officer of the USAF ROTC.
- The CU Boulder Student Veteran Association president will be the honoree captain for the game opening coin toss.
- The CU Boulder Air Force ROTC detachment will perform its annual POW/MIA run, a 24-hour run for remembrance of American prisoners of war and those who have gone missing in action. Members of the detachment will run with POW/MIA and American flags for a full 24 hours for this cause prior to the game. The event will culminate with one cadet running wiht the POW/MIA flag into the opening ceremonies of the game.
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CU Boulder is home to more than 1,000 student veterans and veteran-dependent students and more than 300 faculty and staff vets. The campus recently launched the Veteran Ambassador Program and Summer Bridge Program to help CU Boulder student veterans acclimate to campus.
“Veterans Day is a day of unity. As chancellor, it is my privilege to encourage all of us to attend these events to broaden our horizons and honor our veterans, not only those on our campus but also those serving worldwide,” said Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano. “Please take a moment in the coming days to reflect on the service of these dedicated individuals who have fought and sacrificed to preserve our freedoms.”
The University Memorial Center
In 1947, Colorado Governor Lee Knous proclaimed the planned University of Colorado student union a memorial to “those who served in these great wars.” And so it was named “University Memorial Center” in tribute to all Colorado veterans. And at the 2013 Veterans Day Ceremony, the UMC was rededicated as Colorado’s official veterans’ memorial.
The second-floor Veterans Lounge was expanded in 2015 and now displays dedication plaques memorializing the Colorado veterans and University of Colorado students who died in WWI, WWII, Vietnam, the conflict in Korea, the Persian/Gulf Wars, the conflict in Iraq and the conflict in Afghanistan. The UMC continues to work with CU's Office of Veteran Services to honor the memory of Coloradans involved in current conflicts.
The lounge also features an exhibit with many original artifacts from the USS Colorado, the third ship of the U.S. Navy named in honor of the 38th state. Among the artifacts are the ship’s bell and stern pilot wheel, a waterline one-meter scale model and the ship's 48-star “Sunday Flag.”
