AMANDA DEDIE
News Editor
Last week, the campus celebrated Veterans Week before the the day itself, which is Nov. 11. Veterans Day is celebrated on the anniversary of the end of World War I and is a day to honor those who have fought for our country.
On Wednesday, author Brian Turner, who served for seven years in the U.S. Army, did readings and answered questions after the audience enjoyed a musical setting of his poem “Eulogy,” composed by Dr. Robert Deemer, head of the Composition Department. The vocal piece gave an idea of the mindset of a soldier who eventually takes his own life while on the battlefield in Iraq.
Mark Monsegur, a senior business administration major, said, “He wrote a poem about him walking into a hardware store, and just the sound of tools reminded him of his time in Iraq — bullets flying, stuff like that. He gave us a small glimpse into his mind … You don’t forget what happened back there. It was moving, to say the least.”
On Thursday, Matt Gallagher, a former U.S. Army captain, Iraq War veteran and author who writes about his experience in war, presented a talk called “Diversity, the Human Spirit, and War.”
“He was very informative about being in the army,” said Monsegur. “He was financially good [when he got out of the Army], which a lot of veterans [aren’t lucky enough to be] … he was still very grateful for getting benefits after, but his story was just as impactful.”
Finally, on Friday, Fredonia’s eighth annual Remembrance Ceremony was held in the Williams Center Multipurpose Room. The event was a way for students and community to show their gratitude to veterans who may or may not be with us.
The speakers were sponsored by English professor Dr. Iclal Vanwesenbeeck, the Veterans Affairs Office and Veterans Affairs Administrator Mark Mackey.
The Veterans Affairs Office is a resource on campus for veterans, or relatives of veterans, that helps with things such as tuition, fees, books and more.
“It’s required, if you have any students using veterans benefits, to have a veterans services office on campus,” said Mackey. “We ensure that all students receiving veterans benefits get the benefits they need.”
According to Mackey, there are five types of benefits that eligible students can receive through the office.
“You have the regular veteran [that served after 9/11] that was in the service and they got out. For them, their tuition and fees are paid for, and then they receive a housing and book stipend,” said Mackey.
“Then we have a family member benefit. So if your dad was in the army, he could transfer his benefits to you so you can use his benefits … There’s also a dependent benefit, or benefits that were transferred to someone’s dependent prior to getting off active duty. Then there’s a benefit where if a family member passed away due to a service-related problem or if they’re 100 percent disabled, the student gets a monthly stipend. Finally, there are benefits for reservists.”
Another veterans resource on campus is the lesser-known Veterans Club. Started by Casey Springer, a senior social work major, the club is available to veterans, relatives and friends of veterans, and even those who just want to help spread awareness and lend a hand.
“[Veterans Club] help[s] encourage collaboration and unity in the title of being a veteran and also anyone who supports veterans in general,” said Springer. “It can be family members, siblings, cousins, relatives, friends … It’s pretty broad and doesn’t exclude anybody.”
The club is currently working on increasing its number of members, but that doesn’t stop it from helping others and attempting to reach out to those who could benefit from the support of the club.
“You were talking about transition, and that’s why I’m doing what I’m doing — to help veterans transition from military to civilian,” said Springer. “What’s dangerous is veterans coming back without … connecting with other veterans. I have lost several veterans myself, all to suicide. Something has to be done about it, so that’s why I’m doing what I’m doing.”
Veterans Club hopes to increase engagement and take on special projects, such as Mission Restore Bronze, where people go to local cemeteries to pay tribute to former veterans. The group visits graves that may not have visitors, cleans them up and sometimes plants flowers.
Most importantly, the club hopes to inform people of the situations that veterans find themselves in upon returning home from duty, such as homelessness, lack of healthcare benefits and increased suicide rates.
“I think it’s important for everybody. These are people that fight for us. I feel there is a lack of acknowledgement sometimes, and it’s a crime in itself,” said Monsegur. “My goal here on campus is to further push Veterans Week and make it a big event … I’m sure a lot of people on this campus [know] one person who has been [in the military], so I think it’s something that’s very important.”