Faculty, students and visitors of Cayuga Community College heard the words of veterans from past and present Monday.
Sam Tenney / The Citizen
CCC student Stephanie Jones, who served as a sergeant in the Army in Iraq for more than a year, speaks at the annual Veterans Day remembrance event at Cayuga Community College Monday morning.
CCC student Stephanie Jones, who served as a sergeant in the Army in Iraq for more than a year, speaks at the annual Veterans Day remembrance event at Cayuga Community College Monday morning.
The college held its third annual veterans remembrance event in preparation for today's holiday. During the program, letters and poems were read aloud from people who had fought overseas in past wars. A current student and veteran of the war in Iraq also gave a fresh perspective of what it means to serve.
And college officials announced the school's plan to participate in a nationwide program dedicated to recording the stories of living veterans for future generations.
Veterans Day is about remembering the citizens who served the United States over the years, said Joanne Lamb, who led the program.
“Today is not about politics. It is not about an election. It is not about what party, what person, or what war,” said Lamb, who added that the college decided to hold the event on Monday to allow attendees to participate in ceremonies and events today.
First to offer her perspective at the program was CCC student Stephanie Jones. Jones, 27, served as a sergeant in the Army in Iraq from October 2004 through November 2005.
During her talk, Jones said that her time of service instilled in her the values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and service to the community. Though she has been out of the Army for three years, those values remain, she said.
And they serve as an unspoken connection with others who have served overseas, Jones said.
“Underneath, I'm a soldier. It's something that is important to me,” she said.
Jones said one of the reasons she decided to talk at the CCC program was to represent the new face of veterans. As the military becomes more diverse and specialized, the people returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan break the stereotypes of the tall, strapping man with a crew cut.
“It's not all about being that big, rough and tough person when you are in the Army,” said Jones, who worked as a logistical specialist while in Iraq. “If you didn't know, would you look at me and say 'I am a veteran?'”
Much of Monday's program was also dedicated to looking back at the service of previous generations of veterans. Lamb and Susan Wolstenholme, a professor of English at CCC, read excerpts written by and about service men and women from Vietnam, Korea and World War II.
Wolstenholme read one letter she found among the belongings of her father, who served in World War II. The letter was written while he rested in a British hospital after being liberated from German captivity, she said.
The letter talked of his liberation by Canadian soldiers, looking back on the events with both joy and excitement.
“Things may go a little rough for us sometimes, but they turn out perfectly in the end,” Wolstenholme read from the letter.
Though Veterans Day will be over tomorrow, the spirit of remembrance will continue on the CCC campus through the year. Lamb announced Monday that students at the college will participate in the Veterans History Project.
Organized through the Library of Congress, the project is an effort to record and gather stories from American veterans of foreign wars. Once the stories are collected on video or audio recordings, they will be stored in the Library of Congress as historic documents.
Lamb said local students will record interviews with local veterans over the next six or eight months and submit them to the program.
“If we can continue in any way to help the community not lose these stories, we want to participate,” Lamb said.
After the program, CCC student Sabrina Gratton, 22, said she appreciated the school's observance of an important holiday. With a grandfather who fought in World War II and a brother who is a veteran of the first Persian Gulf war, Gratton said it is important to respect and remember their service.
“A lot of people don't even take time to say a little prayer on Veterans Day or anything like that,” Gratton said. “As a community, we need to really make time for those things because little things like that help.”
Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.
Remember veterans at following local events
What: City of Auburn Day of Remembrance
When: 11 a.m.
Where: Memorial City Hall, 24 South St., Auburn
What: Veterans Day Service
When: 11 a.m.
Where: Victory Firehouse, Routes 38 and 370
And college officials announced the school's plan to participate in a nationwide program dedicated to recording the stories of living veterans for future generations.
Veterans Day is about remembering the citizens who served the United States over the years, said Joanne Lamb, who led the program.
“Today is not about politics. It is not about an election. It is not about what party, what person, or what war,” said Lamb, who added that the college decided to hold the event on Monday to allow attendees to participate in ceremonies and events today.
First to offer her perspective at the program was CCC student Stephanie Jones. Jones, 27, served as a sergeant in the Army in Iraq from October 2004 through November 2005.
During her talk, Jones said that her time of service instilled in her the values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and service to the community. Though she has been out of the Army for three years, those values remain, she said.
And they serve as an unspoken connection with others who have served overseas, Jones said.
“Underneath, I'm a soldier. It's something that is important to me,” she said.
Jones said one of the reasons she decided to talk at the CCC program was to represent the new face of veterans. As the military becomes more diverse and specialized, the people returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan break the stereotypes of the tall, strapping man with a crew cut.
“It's not all about being that big, rough and tough person when you are in the Army,” said Jones, who worked as a logistical specialist while in Iraq. “If you didn't know, would you look at me and say 'I am a veteran?'”
Much of Monday's program was also dedicated to looking back at the service of previous generations of veterans. Lamb and Susan Wolstenholme, a professor of English at CCC, read excerpts written by and about service men and women from Vietnam, Korea and World War II.
Wolstenholme read one letter she found among the belongings of her father, who served in World War II. The letter was written while he rested in a British hospital after being liberated from German captivity, she said.
The letter talked of his liberation by Canadian soldiers, looking back on the events with both joy and excitement.
“Things may go a little rough for us sometimes, but they turn out perfectly in the end,” Wolstenholme read from the letter.
Though Veterans Day will be over tomorrow, the spirit of remembrance will continue on the CCC campus through the year. Lamb announced Monday that students at the college will participate in the Veterans History Project.
Organized through the Library of Congress, the project is an effort to record and gather stories from American veterans of foreign wars. Once the stories are collected on video or audio recordings, they will be stored in the Library of Congress as historic documents.
Lamb said local students will record interviews with local veterans over the next six or eight months and submit them to the program.
“If we can continue in any way to help the community not lose these stories, we want to participate,” Lamb said.
After the program, CCC student Sabrina Gratton, 22, said she appreciated the school's observance of an important holiday. With a grandfather who fought in World War II and a brother who is a veteran of the first Persian Gulf war, Gratton said it is important to respect and remember their service.
“A lot of people don't even take time to say a little prayer on Veterans Day or anything like that,” Gratton said. “As a community, we need to really make time for those things because little things like that help.”
Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.
Remember veterans at following local events
What: City of Auburn Day of Remembrance
When: 11 a.m.
Where: Memorial City Hall, 24 South St., Auburn
What: Veterans Day Service
When: 11 a.m.
Where: Victory Firehouse, Routes 38 and 370
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