On Wednesday, the Mississippi State University community came together to recognize over 7,000 fallen soldiers from the War on Terror. MSU Army and Air Force ROTC members lined the Drill Field as students and faculty voluntarily came to read off the names.
The ceremony was held at 2 p.m. featuring MSU President Mark Keenum.
Keenum publicly thanked the veterans and military personnel on the MSU campus and discussed the recognition the university has received concerning the treatment of veterans.
“Our university has been recognized repeatedly, and for good reason, as one of the most veteran friendly campuses in the nation,” Keenum said. “We have on our campus about 450 veterans and service members that are students here today. We have about 2,100 students including dependents and other members of our extended veteran family on our campus.”
Keenum also discussed the new Veteran’s Business Outreach Center at MSU, one of 15 in the nation. MSUis participating with the Small Business Administrations Office of Veterans Business Development to provide services to veterans in Mississippi and other states.
MSU is the first and only in the nation to implement such a joint effort with the VA. In closing, Keenum talked about the award MSU was recently presented.
“This fall, the Military Order of the Purple Heart designated Mississippi State as a purple heart university for outstanding service to veterans, service members, dependents and their survivors,” Keenum said.
The university will be formally designating and receiving that declaration on Saturday during pre-game ceremonies at the football game against Alabama, and will also celebrate its annual salute to its veterans at half time.
Keenum’s speech lasted all of five minutes, but the message was impactful for all who were present.
“We can’t pay those who have died protecting our freedoms, but we must remember and we must honor them and we must give our living veterans the support they rightfully deserve,” Keenum said. “Let us re-commit today to serve them who have so admirably served our country. I am very proud that Mississippi State, our beloved university, works to do just that in a number of different ways.”
