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Fresno
State University Honors Veterans with Campus
Observance on Veterans Day 2011
Posted on Thursday, November 10, 2011 |
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U.S. Army veteran Earl “The Pearl” Watson
will headline Fresno State’s on-campus
Veterans Day observance Thursday, Nov. 10,
before a university delegation joins the
community salute Friday, Nov. 11, downtown
for the internationally televised Fresno
Veterans Parade. The campus is closed Nov.
11 for the holiday.
The free, public observance on campus begins
at noon Nov. 10 at the Memorial Court south
of the Kennel Bookstore, paying tribute to
the university’s 350 student military
veterans, reservists and active-duty
personnel and faculty and staff who are
veterans. |
Earl Watson, The Knickerbocker's Doorman to
the Stars autobiographer and WWII war hero
with his wife of 63 years, Melba, take a
break from their book signing tour of
Southern California.
Photo by Tim Smith |
It is
organized by the Student Veterans Organization, formed
two years ago through the Veterans Affairs Office in the
Division of Student Affairs, and by a new student
veterans club, Omega Delta Sigma, which began in the
spring.
Bernie
Vinovrski, associate vice president for enrollment and a
Marine Corps veteran, will emcee the campus observance.
He said the ceremony and parade are Fresno State’s way
of continuing its rich tradition of honoring men and
women who have served the nation through the military.
“It is
exciting to observe and support our veterans as they
pursue their academic degree objectives with the same
passion as when they protected our country while on
active duty,” Vinovrski said.
Watson,
now 86, was an Army supply sergeant assigned to a black
regiment supporting Gen. George Patton’s 3rd Army in
World War II, who saw action in the D-Day invasion, the
Battle of the Bulge and the Battle of the Rhine.
Upon
returning home, he became the “Doorman to the Stars” at
the Hollywood Knickerbocker Hotel where he was a friend
and confidant to entertainers and athletes for three
decades. In 2008, he was presented with numerous medals
for his military service.
Joining
Watson as speakers are Air Force veteran William E
Dietzel, editor of Fresno Veterans Magazine and
organizer of the downtown Veterans Parade; Fresno City
Councilmember Larry Westerlund, a Navy veteran; and an
Associated Students Inc. (ASI) representative.
ASI and
the University Student Union will announce plans to
refurbish the Memorial Court Fountain with funds
provided by the Class of 2011’s gift to the university.
Designs are being finalized and work is expected to
begin in spring. The fountain was dedicated on Pearl
Harbor Day (Dec. 7) 1962, seven years after the Memorial
Court was established as a tribute to Fresno State
veterans of all wars.
Memorial Court stretches from the fountain east along
the tree-lined walkway and the Thomas Building to the
Rose Garden, ending at the university’s flag poles. The
court contains many donated trees and plaques honoring
military service and sacrifice.
Alumna
and Miss Fresno County Valerie Saucedo will sing the
national anthem at the campus event, and the Fresno
State Choir will perform as will Ken Bain of the 42nd
Highlander Bagpipes. Five veterans from the Community
Living Center at the Fresno Veterans Administration
Medical Center will be special guests.
On Nov.
11 at the parade, the Fresno State Bulldog Marching Band
again will follow the color guard, performing “The Army
Comes Rolling Along” to complement this year’s Army
theme.
The
band will be joined by Fresno State’s Air Force and Army
ROTC units, two student veterans clubs, Bulldog
Athletics mascot Timeout, cheerleaders from the Bulldog
Spirit Squad and representatives of the Veterans
Services Office.
The
event, billed as the nation’s largest community Veterans
Day parade, was established in 1919, one year after
World War I ended. The 93rd annual parade begins at 11
a.m. in front of City Hall at P and Tulare streets and
ends at Chukchansi Park at Tulare and Broadway. It is
broadcast worldwide on the Pentagon Channel.
A
Fresno State Army ROTC delegation will visit the
Sommerford Place assisted living facility in Fresno
(6075 N. Marks Ave.) from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Nov. 11.
That
evening at 7 o’clock, veterans and active-duty military
will be admitted free to the Fresno State men’s
basketball game against Illinois State at Save Mart
Center. A Korean War veteran will sing the national
anthem.
Fresno
State’s connections with military service extend
throughout the campus:
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For more than 60 years, Fresno State has hosted an
Air Force ROTC detachment; and for nearly 30 years
an Army ROTC unit. Both are award-winning units
housed in the Craig School of Business. Both have
commissioned hundreds of line and nurse officers for
the military’s active, National Guard and reserve
components.
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The Submarine Memorial in the Maple Mall south of
the Satellite Student Union, dedicated in 2002 with
a granite marker and 54 tulip trees, honors all 60
U.S. submarines and 3,797 sailors lost since World
War II began.
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The Central California War Veterans Oral History
Project, through Fresno State’s Department of Mass
Communication and Journalism, is preserving stories
of San Joaquin Valley military veterans in the Henry
Madden Library. About 230 stories will have been
archived by the end of the semester.
For more information about Veterans Services and the two
observances, contact Robyn Gutierrez, veterans benefits
coordinator, at 559.278.7030 or
rgutierrez@csufresno.edu.
(Source: Fresno State University's
press release, 11/09/2011)
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