Friday Focus: Each a story of courage
November 5, 2020
— by Jackie Morton, director, Department of Military and Veteran Services
Nov. 11 is always an important day for me — as a veteran, the daughter of a Marine and the spouse of a service member, and the director of UAF’s Department of Military and Veteran Services. I know Veterans Day is also important to many of you at UAF, where 15% of the student body is composed of veterans, military and their family members. What makes Veterans Day special isn’t the Army, Air Force, Navy or Marine Corps, but the individuals themselves.
Each veteran and military service member has their story of why they served, their experiences and how they were transformed by their service. These are the stories of your grandparent, parent, sibling, neighbor, professor or student. Each story is deeply personal, private and often emotionally complicated. Some will choose to put their story in a box away from others, or some may share glimpses of their story.
Each story is one of courage.
To see the faces of some of these stories, I encourage you to visit the UAF Honor Wall website, home to photos and captions of many veterans and military service members in our community. I also encourage you to submit photos and stories of those veterans who have touched your life. These stories of exceptional courage and unbreakable determination to defend our country and care for their comrades serve as a reminder of the sacrifices our veterans have made.
I also invite each of you to the student veteran panel on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, from 1-2 p.m. to engage with UAF student veterans about what it is like to be a veteran or service member and move on to higher education. Please join us, to witness their struggles, success and their experience at UAF.
This Veterans Day, I know many of you will thank the veterans you know, but I also ask something more from each of you. Each day, an average of 17 veterans take their life. This past year has proven to be a challenging one for so many. Isolation, financial stress, unemployment and limited support services may have exacerbated the feelings of loneliness and hopelessness that some are experiencing. This year more than any other year, I implore you to reach out to the veterans in your life, not just to say thank you or express appreciation but to check on them. Let them know they matter, that their story matters, they are not alone and you are there for them.
To my fellow veterans, thank you. May Veterans Day and each day bring you happiness in the freedoms our country has because of your courage, and know that we are here to serve you as you have served your country.
— Jackie Morton, director of UAF’s Department of Military and Veteran Services, is also a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve.
Friday Focus is a column written by a different member of UAF’s leadership team every week. On occasion, a guest writer is asked to contribute a column.