The University of West Georgia was one of nearly 200 schools across the country to participate in Remembrance Day National Roll Call on Nov. 11.
In the Veterans Day ceremony, volunteers read the names of the more than 6,200 American troops who have died in Afghanistan and Iraq in the past decade.
“A lot of these names are just names to most people,” said Jonathan Miller, a UWG student, during opening remarks. “There’s a story behind every one these 6,000 names.”
Among those stories was Major Robert Baldwin, his executive officer, said Miller, who joined the U.S. Army after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Once, while training in Louisiana, the troops were put up in a filthy hotel room. Baldwin found it unacceptable and rented rooms for his troops in another hotel. He took money out of his pocket to cover the cost of the hotel rooms.
“He cared about his soldiers,” Miller said. “He cared about the mission. That was what he was.”
Baldwin died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan on Sept. 21, 2010, leaving behind his wife and four children.
The ceremony at UWG began with the presentation of colors by Carrollton’s American Legion Post 143. There was a moment of silence at 2 p.m. – 11 a.m. Pacific Time. In 1918, the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month marked the temporary cessation of hostilities between the Allied nations and Germany.
The Veterans Knowledge Community of NASPA Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education sponsored the national roll call.
Remembering is important, said Corey Rumann, UWG assistant professor and director of the College Student Affairs program, who helped organize the event.
“We forget and feel disconnected from the wars. That’s why this day is so incredibly important,” Rumann said.
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