Recalling a moment of valor – Yahoo News

Nov. 11Three hundred and eighteen flags lined a corner of the University of Idaho Administration Building lawn to remember all the alumni who had died in action since the Spanish-American War. As the campus was quiet because of canceled classes, dozens gathered to mark Veterans Day.

The ceremony started 15 minutes past 11 a.m. Friday with the presentation of the guard. University of Idaho ROTC students were lined up in dress uniforms along the street, facing the flag displays.

ROTC members brought out flags of the United States, the state of Idaho and each miltary branch before placing them in the flag stands. The crowd stood silent for the display as the chosen speaker approached the edge of the lawn.

Despite the wind and no microphone, Lt. Col. Ross Warren addressed the crowd. He is a professor of military science at the University of Idaho, director of the ROTC program and an alumnus. Warren gave a brief speech on the history of Veterans Day and the display behind him before asking for a moment of silence.

Veterans Day was established in 1954 and changed the already established Armistice Day to include all American veterans. Armistice Day was established to celebrate the end of the First World War. As a call-back to Veterans Day's history, Warren accompanied his speech with a reading of "Soldiers Triumphant," written by University of Idaho then-president Ernest H. Lindley.

"At the beginning of the war college men were quick to understand the issue. They did not wait for others. They gave themselves promptly and wholeheartedly to the cause," Lindley writes.

The essay was published in 1920 in the Gem of the Mountains, the university yearbook. It starts with a story of an American soldier who was found on a battlefield in France. The soldier had no marks of identification except for a ring with the University of Idaho seal, and was found next to four German soldiers. The soldier was found with a knife driven into the ground next to him as "a token of his victory in unequal combat," Lindley writes.

During the silence, the wreath was placed on display.

"I certainly cannot speak for all servicemen past and present. However, I think all veterans and servicemen are an expression of hope," Warren said. "Hope that our American experience is worth preserving with our lives."

Kali Nelson can be reached at knelson@dnews.com.

Read more:

Recalling a moment of valor - Yahoo News