_Editor’s note: The Maneater profiled four MU ROTC Hall of Fame inductees for [our special Veterans Day section, “Honoring MU’s bravest and boldest.”](https://www.themaneater.com/special-sections/veterans-day-2014/)_
Taps rang out across campus Tuesday as student trumpeters capped off a full slate of Veterans Week events on campus.
Beginning Saturday, MU’s ROTC chapters stood guard with a 24-hour Veterans Day Vigil, where cadets and midshipmen marched outside Boone County Courthouse.
The event was headed by senior and Cadet Capt. Laura Walker. She said the vigil was similar to the guard posted outside the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
“We’re just honoring our fallen veterans by guarding this memorial for 24 hours,” Walker said.
Sunday, the vigil came to an end with the Mizzou Joint ROTC 29th Annual Veterans Day Parade and Closing Ceremony. The parade featured a variety of local groups, starting on MU’s campus and proceeding down Ninth Street to end with a ceremony outside the Boone County Courthouse.
During the closing ceremony, former JAG officer Lt. Gen. Richard Harding addressed the crowd.
“There’s a spark inside each young man and each young woman who volunteers to serve the cause of freedom that tells them to make a difference in their lives, to find purpose in their brief time on this planet, and they are, indeed, wise beyond their years,” Harding said.
The Veterans Week Blood Drive was held Monday. Freshman Allison Rapp was one of the students who donated during the blood drive.
“I actually am weirdly passionate about donating blood,” Rapp said. “I feel like it’s one of the greatest things people can do.”
On Tuesday, Veterans Day and the 95th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I, students came together to celebrate a cherished MU tradition, the Wreath Laying Ceremony, with the addition of the Blue Star Memorial dedication. A crowd gathered around Memorial Union despite the cold weather.
Ted Zeiter, veteran and American Red Cross volunteer, said that Veterans Day is not about him.
“It’s remembering those who came before me that kind of paved the way,” Zeiter said. “Those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for this country.”
Graduate student Lauren Trimble said she likes getting involved in the Mizzou Student Veteran’s Association events because her husband is serving abroad in Japan.
“On the surface, (Veterans Day) means giving thanks to anyone who has served both past and present,” Trimble said. “For me, personally, it also means giving thanks to everyone who has also supported veterans in their journey.”
Tuesday’s ceremony featured an emotional speech from Rich Grant, who started the Mizzou Military Veterans Alumni Association. Grant read a 1919 letter from a friend of his great-uncle, who was killed on Armistice Day, 95 years ago.
“Most would tell you, ‘I was just doing my job’ and might seem a little embarrassed by the attention,” Grant said. “But every one of them deserves to hear, ‘Thank you for your service.’ Not just on Veterans Day, but every day.”
