Veteran's Day Commemoration 2000

President Karen W. Morse
11:00 a.m.  November 10, 2000
(Prepared remarks)

Welcome!  Western historically has held a commemoration ceremony like this honoring our veterans.  This is the first year in which we have cancelled classes to enable all students and faculty the opportunity to recognize this day here and elsewhere.  It is good to see some faculty and students here.

We celebrate this 82nd anniversary of Armistice Day by gathering together to express our respect and high regard for the men and women who have served and sacrificed to keep us free – America’s veterans.

We are living in uncertain times. This week's election demonstrated that people across our nation are divided on issues of leadership and direction.  As difficult as this divide is for us, it is important to realize how peacefully the election took place.  This is what our veterans fought for.  As a spokesperson from Eastern Europe commented this week, this election would have resulted in a coup in his country.  But here, no bullets were fired, no stones thrown.  Many places across our world are struggling to find peaceful ways to settle deep differences. We must never take our freedom, security, and peace  -- nor those who have helped preserve these treasured assets -- for granted.  It is truly our privilege to be free to honor our colleagues, family and friends who have represented us in the armed forces.   Celebration of Armistice Day, Veteran's Day, gives us a reason to pause collectively to remember that our freedom isn't accidental.

We are reminded of that by many memorials -- Iwo Jima, the Korean War Veterans Memorial; the Vietnam Wall.  Many of you were able to visit the "Moving Wall" at Hovander Park during the summer.  The people who created the wall and brought it to our area were committed to creating a visible reminder of the importance of our efforts to maintain peace.

Another visible reminder is the students here today. Our nation has long recognized the importance of rewarding military service with higher education, a benefit that has been a great credit to our country.  And many of our students are veterans.  All of our students and faculty have been given this day without classes so that they might join us in reflecting on the importance of our freedoms.  We remember -- especially today and tomorrow -- that the service of our veterans has made it possible for most of our students to come to college instead of being conscripted into military service.  I know we can all agree that our nation is best served by long term peace around the globe  -- allowing young people to attend college, and serve the nation in many ways, from selective armed services to the Peace Corps.

I am honored to be a part of this celebration and to present this tribute to those whose efforts affect me -- affect all of us -- daily.

I want to thank the Center for Veteran’s Affairs for arranging this event, which is unique among universities in Washington. And I invite you to our reception immediately following the ceremony, to give us an opportunity to say thank you to our veterans for their service and for our collective peace.