Veterans Day Commemoration

Utah Veterans Honored for Heroic, Selfless Defense of Country at Annual Commemoration

Panel Discussion: “After the Battlefield” Advances in Medical and Psychological Treatment of Veterans

When Air Force Pilot Jay Hess was shot down over the Chinese-North Vietnam border 42 years ago, he was taken to the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” prison and never imagined he could survive the horrible starvation and torture at the hands of his captors. Determination and the hope of one day returning to his wife and five kids back home in Utah helped pulled him through. On Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 11:00 a.m. in the Olpin Union Ballroom, Hess and ten other Utah veterans will be honored at the University of Utah's annual Veterans Day Commemoration. They will be awarded medallions in a full-dress military ceremony prior to being hailed with a cannon salute.
            Special events and celebrations are held each year around campus throughout the day of November 11 to honor the service men and women who have protected our country. All activities that day are free and open to the public, including the medallion ceremony, a morning panel discussion with military and civilian experts, and a 1940's big band performance by the Phoenix Swing Band.
            The honorees are selected from nominations submitted by friends and family. Because of their advancing years and the enormous contribution made to the country, the University Veterans Day committee chose 9 of the 11 honorees this year from those who served during World War II. Two others, including Hess, are decorated veterans of Vietnam. One honoree, Robert Shaffer, served in both World War II and Korea.
            Preceding the medallion ceremony, a morning panel entitled “After the Battlefield” will be held in the Olpin Union Theatre. Four panelists will discuss the present and future of military medicine. Panelists include Brigadier General Jeff Burton, assistant adjutant general for the Army of the Utah National Guard; Dr. Steve Allen, Salt Lake VA Medical Center staff psychologist and coordinator of the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Clinical Team; Dr. Roy Bloebaum, professor of orthopedic research and senior researcher at the VA Hospital and co-director of the VA Bone and Joint Research Lab; and Professor Greg Clark, associate professor of bioengineering at the University of Utah. The panel will be moderated by Dr. David Rudd, chair of the University of Utah's College of Social and Behavioral Science.
            Following the ceremony at 12:30 p.m. in the Ballroom of the Olpin Union Building there will be a special reception and light buffet honoring U of U student veterans and a performance by the Phoenix Swing Band. The public is invited to enjoy the sounds of the big band era with these local retired musicians, many of whom are veterans themselves.  Later that night at 7:00 p.m., the 54th Annual Veterans Day Concert will be held at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The Utah National Guard 23rd Army Band will perform an array of instrumental songs and melodies. A chorus of hundreds of students from nearby high schools also performs with the band. The concert is always free and open to the public.

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