Events

The two primary events held at the Veterans Memorial each year are the Memorial Day ceremony, and the Veterans Day ceremony, "Lessons of Service," a cooperative effort between PSU and local schools to which all sixth grade students are invited. Both ceremonies are open to the public.

Memorial Day Observance

On Monday, May 30, 2022, at 10 a.m., Pittsburg State University will honor veterans and their families during a virtual Memorial Day Ceremony. The live stream will be available at pittstate.tv. A recording of the ceremony will be available at pittstate.tv or vimeo.com/pittstate by the end of that day, and will be archived for future viewing at any time.

 

Honor Chair Dedication
Nov. 6, 2021, during halftime of the Gorilla football game

Inspired by honor seats at NFL stadiums, a similar tribute to POW/MIA veterans was dedicated at Carnie Smith Stadium during the Nov. 6 Gorilla football game, which is known as the Military Appreciation Game. The halftime ceremony featured cadets in PSU ROTC, who assisted with the unveiling. A black seat with PSU branding sat empty at that game, and will remain so at every future game. The chair has "#1” in the top corner, indicating that ALL veterans are number one in our hearts and minds. The PSU Honor Chair was fabricated by Hussey Seating and was installed along with a dedication plaque on the southwest side of the stands near the 40-yard-line, the “best seat in the house,” reserved for veterans.  

Veterans Day 2021
Nov. 11 at 1 p.m.

Pittsburg State University returned to an in-person Veterans Day ceremony as part of the university’s annual observation of the national holiday. It was presented as a civics lesson for local sixth graders and was open to the public. 

The keynote speaker was Pittsburg Fire Chief Dennis Reilly, who operated as a rescue squad officer at Ground Zero following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. In addition to a distinguished fire service career, Reilly is a U.S. Army veteran. Spending more than six years on active duty, he served as a combat medic with the 82nd Airborne Division, a flight medic with over 500 hours of flight time, and as a combat medic with the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, and was deployed during the first Gulf War.

PSU ROTC also played a role in the ceremony, as did the Pittsburg Community Middle School Choir. The ceremony was recorded and archived for future viewing at youtube.com/pittsburgstate and pittstate.tv

Memorial Day 2021 
May 31

A special pre-recorded Memorial Day program was available for viewing on demand starting on May 31 on several channels. Featured was keynote speaker (Ret.) Col. Donald Woolfolk, a native of Pratt, Kansas, who is now in his 13th year as the deputy director of intelligence, Navy Special Warfare Command. He received his commission in 1972 through the ROTC program at Pittsburg State University, where he earned a bachelor’s in business administration. Among the highlights of his career: serving as Military Social Aide-de-Camp to presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. He has been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal and the NATO Medal. The program also included a reading of the names of paver honorees. The broadcast has been archived on the university’s YouTube and Vimeo channels for future viewing at any time. 

Veterans Day 2020
Nov. 11 at 11 a.m.

A special Veterans Day program was broadcast on Nov. 11 on several platforms. It was recorded in advance at the PSU Veterans Memorial to capture the stories of veterans who have pavers at the memorial. Featured: GeGe Sachetta, a former miner with Big Brutus who served in World War II; Gene Corsini (BSEd '64), a longtime local pilot who served in Vietnam; Dr. Ron Seglie (BA '65), a local physician who served in Operation Desert Storm; and Chris Kmiec (BS'07), a local police detective who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. A link to it, along with an outline and suggested discussion points, was sent prior to Veterans Day to all sixth-grade teachers in Pittsburg so that they could show it to students at their convenience. The ceremony was streamed at pittstate.tv, youtube.com/pittsburgstate, Facebook.com/PSUVeteransMemorial, and CAPS 13. The broadcast was archived on the university’s YouTube and Vimeo channels for future viewing at any time.

Memorial Day 2020
May 25 at 10 a.m.

A recorded ceremony was streamed on Monday, May 25, on several platforms to enable viewing from anywhere. Keynote speaker: Anthony "Tony" Perez, a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He spent 22 years in service during the Vietnam War era on numerous bases across the U.S. and two tours in Thailand, then 19 years at the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant in Parsons, Kansas. The ceremony will include a dedication of new pavers and music including a local bagpiper. The ceremony, created by PSU at the Veterans Memorial, was streamed at: pittstate.tv, youtube.com/pittsburgstate, facebook.com/PSUVeteransMemorial, and CAPS 13 TV. The broadcast was archived on the university’s YouTube and Vimeo channels for future viewing at any time.

Veterans Day 2019
Nov. 11 at 1 p.m.
Keynote speaker: (Ret.) Major Kavan Stull of Oronogo, Missouri, who has been active in the historical preservation of WWI veterans' grave sites and monuments and does living history interpretation. Stull was commissioned as an Army officer in 1974 and served from 1975 to 1981, then served in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1982 to 1996. He has been a featured speaker at museums, parks, and historic sites throughout the region, sometimes appearing in an authentic uniform as WWI-era Captain Harry S. Truman and telling his story based upon his letters back home to his future wife, Bess, while he served in Battery D, 129th FA Regt. 35th Infantry Division. The ceremony will include a dedication of new pavers, music, and an invocation and benediction by a local pastor. Rain location: Student Recreation Center.

Memorial Day 2019
May 27 at 9 a.m.
Keynote speaker: Dr. Andy Klenke, interim chair of Technology & Workforce Learning at PSU and a U.S. Army veteran who has children, siblings, and in-laws currently serving or who are veterans. The ceremony will include a dedication of new pavers, music, and an invocation and benediction by a local pastor. Rain location: Bicknell Family Center for the Arts

Wreaths Across America Day 2018
Dec. 15 at 1 p.m.
PSU ROTC will hold a brief ceremony at the Veterans Memorial as part of the nationally observed Wreaths Across America Day held each December. Wreath-laying ceremonies also were held at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as at more than 1,400 additional locations in all 50 states, at sea, and abroad. At our ceremony, Senior Cadet Zaw Aung served as the emcee, Lt. Col. Charles Costello, professor of military science, offered remarks, and former service members placed wreaths on stands by memorial seals that represent each branch of service. 

Veterans Day 2018
Nov. 12 at 1 p.m.*
Location: Student Recreation Center, 2001 S. Rouse, directly south of the Veterans Memorial. 
* Please note this year's ceremony will be held in the afternoon — a departure from the morning ceremony of years' past. It will be followed by a presentation by the Quilts of Valor, a non-profit movement to honor wounded service members for their sacrifices by giving them freedom quilts.

Memorial Day 2018
May 28 at 9:30 a.m.
Keynote speaker: U.S. Army First Lieutenant Kristina Willis (BA '14), whose specialty is military intelligence. The ceremony will include a dedication of new pavers, music, and an invocation and benediction by a local pastor. Rain location: Bicknell Family Center for the Arts

Veterans Day 2017
Nov. 10 at 10 a.m.
Keynote speaker: Laurel AuBuchon Shelton, "Honor All Who Served: A Daughter's Perspective of Veterans Day." The ceremony will include music by the Pittsburg Community Middle School Choir, Pittsburg MultiGenerational Chorus, and trumpet player Henry Zimmermann; a dedication of new pavers; speakers from the PSU Department of Military Science and ROTC; and an invocation and benediction by a local pastor. Rain location: the Robert W. Plaster Center