November 03, 2017

Vigil, ceremony highlight annual Veterans Day event

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois University Carbondale, VFW Post 2605, and the city of Carbondale will host a joint Veterans Day ceremony on Friday, Nov. 10 at the Veterans Memorial Plaza in Carbondale. 

The event begins at 11 a.m. and is open to the public. The Veterans Memorial Plaza is at the intersection of East Main and South Washington streets, just south of the town square. In the event of rain, the ceremony will move across the street to the City Pavilion. The SIU Carbondale Army and Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) will perform an honor salute and presentation of our nation’s colors. 

The ceremony honors veterans of all American and foreign wars, conflicts and military operations.

Media Advisory

Reporters, photographers and camera crews are welcome to cover the event, including the 24-hour silent vigil that precedes the ceremony. SIU Carbondale Army and Air Force ROTC staff members and participating cadets will be available for interviews at the conclusion of the ceremony. Contact Tammy Sanders, Army ROTC office manager at SIU Carbondale, at 618/453-5786 or tsanders@siu.edu to arrange for interviews.

For the 24 hours preceding the ceremony, a combined operation of more than 100 members of the university’s Army and Air Force ROTC will conduct a timeless tradition honoring those who have served. Cadets will stand a silent vigil beginning at 11 a.m., Nov. 9, at the Old Main Flagpole in remembrance of the nation’s prisoners of war and those who remain missing in action. The guard change occurs every 15 minutes during the 24-hour period that runs until Friday’s ceremony. 

SIU President Randy Dunn will provide introductory remarks and Carbondale Mayor John “Mike” Henry will present a Veterans Day proclamation. 

Chancellor Carlo Montemagno will provide brief remarks. Montemagno, who became chancellor in August, joined the U.S. Navy in 1980 and served several management positions as a civil engineering corps officer working with the U.S. Department of Energy.