Pitt to Host National Remembrance Day Roll Call on Veterans Day to Honor Troops

PITTSBURGH—For the third consecutive year, the University of Pittsburgh will participate in the National Remembrance Day Roll Call event to honor American service men and women from 10 a.m. to noon Nov. 11, Veterans Day, in Heinz Chapel, 4200 Fifth Ave., Oakland.

Across the nation, campus and community volunteers at Pitt and other colleges and universities will simultaneously read the names of those service members who have died in service to the nation in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The University’s Office of Veterans Services is coordinating Pitt’s participation in the event.

The ceremony will include a reading of the names of all Pennsylvania service members who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan, a minute of silence at 11 a.m., and the opportunity to write thank-you notes to active duty service members overseas. Speakers will include Pitt Vice Chancellor G. Reynolds Clark; John McCabe, president and CEO, Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall; and Paul Kantner, 2013 Outstanding Student of the Year in Pitt’s College of General Studies, a media and professional communications major, and an active member of the United States Marine Corps.

During the Roll Call event and throughout the day on Nov. 11, staff from Pitt’s Office of Veterans Services and volunteers will be on campus collecting donations for the Wounded Warriors and Veterans Education Assistance Fund. The fund, established by Erik J. Rodenberg (BUS ’08G), honors the courage and sacrifice of Sergeant Jeremy W. Feldbusch (A&S ’01), who assists veterans, particularly wounded veterans, and their dependents in achieving their educational goals.

In addition to the Roll Call event, Pitt’s Office of Veterans Services will present two other events within one week of Veterans Day, meant to further honor American service men and women.

On Nov. 4, Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran Bryan Adams will present his story in a presentation titled “The Battles After War: A Soldier’s Struggle With Mental Illness.” The event is sponsored by Pitt’s Office of Veterans Services and presented by Pitt’s chapter of Active Minds, a mental health advocacy group. The presentation will be held at 8 p.m. Nov. 4 in the Ballroom of the William Pitt Union, 3959 Fifth Ave., Oakland, and will be followed by a question-and-answer session.

And on Nov. 12, Bryan Bender, author of You Are Not Forgotten (Doubleday, 2013) and a writer for The Boston Globe, will offer a book discussion and signing. Bender, a 1994 graduate of the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, joined the Globe’s Washington bureau in 2001 and covers the U.S. military, global terrorism, and government secrecy. You Are Not Forgotten tells the true story of a lost World War II pilot and a modern soldier’s mission to bring him home. David Shribman, executive editor and vice president of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, will serve as master of ceremonies. The event will be held at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 12 in the O’Hara Student Center, 4024 O’Hara St., Oakland. The discussion is hosted by the Office of Veterans Services and cosponsored by the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and the Department of English.

For information about these events, the University of Pittsburgh’s Office of Veterans Services, or the Wounded Warrior and Veterans Education Assistance Fund, visit veterans.pitt.edu or contact the Office of Veterans Services at 412-624-3213.

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10/28/13/klf/cjhm