2016 National Remembrance Day Roll Call

PITTSBURGH—In Afghanistan, Andrew J. Brennan led a Black Hawk helicopter platoon. In Pittsburgh, he leads efforts to erect a memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., honoring fallen veterans of the Global War on Terror.

The founder and executive director of the Global War on Terror Memorial Foundation, Brennan will serve as the keynote speaker for the University of Pittsburgh’s observance of the 2016 National Remembrance Day Roll Call. The free, public event will begin at 1 p.m. Nov. 10 in Pitt’s Heinz Memorial Chapel, Fifth and Bellefield Avenues, Oakland.

This is the sixth consecutive year that Pitt has participated in the National Remembrance Day Roll Call. The annual ceremony pays tribute to U.S. military veterans who lost their lives during the Global War on Terrorism. As part of the occasion, officials at colleges and universities across the nation simultaneously read the names of service members from their states who have died while serving during the last 15 years of sustained conflict. The national reading of names will be followed by a nationwide minute of silence at 2 p.m.

Throughout the event, volunteers will pass out information on local nonprofit organizations that assist veterans and their families. These organizations include Pitt’s Student Veterans Association and the Wounded Warriors and Veterans Educational Assistance Fund. Additionally, attendees will be given an opportunity to write personalized thank-you notes to active-duty service members overseas.

“Solemn occasions, such as this, provide opportunities for America to heal. It’s an opportunity to remember those we have lost, and honor the sacrifices of this generation of service members and veterans,” said Brennan, who is also a second-year student in Pitt’s Master of Business Administration program. “The University of Pittsburgh will stand in solidarity with the communities and families of those who have given their lives in what is now America’s longest military campaign.”

A Pittsburgh native, Brennan served as an aviation officer for five years, achieving the rank of captain in the U.S. Army. Deployed to Afghanistan in 2010, he led a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter platoon in addition to staff work for his battalion. After leaving active service in 2012, he worked in private-sector logistics before entering Pitt’s Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business in 2015. Brennan also is active with Pittsburgh’s Mission Continues’ Service Platoon and serves as a veteran advisor to the Pittsburgh VA Healthcare System’s Innovation Board. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point.

A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Global War on Terror Memorial Foundation was established by Brennan in 2014. The foundation tasks itself with all efforts towards building a monument on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.—alongside the Korean, Vietnam, and World War II war memorials—honoring the memories of fallen service members who perished in the Global War on Terrorism.

Pitt’s participation in the 2016 National Remembrance Day Roll Call is sponsored by the University’s Office of Veterans Services, which is housed within the College of General Studies. Established in 2009, the Office of Veterans Services offers veteran students and their families a range of services, including pre-admission counseling, military benefits and scholarship advising, and career training assistance.

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11/7/16/amm/klf