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A ceremony will be held this afternoon at War Memorial Pylons to honor Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets alumni who have recently died.
Each time a member of the Corps loses his life during military service, his name is engraved on the Ut Prosim Pylon.
The ceremony, which will begin at 4 p.m., will dedicate the engraving of two new names on the pylon. The first is that of Navy Lt. Nick Brantley. Brantley died when his helicopter went down over the Atlantic in September 2005. His will be the third name from the Tech Corps of Cadets class of 2001 to be added to the memorial.
Col. Rock Roszak, director of VTCC alumni relations, organized the ceremony and worked closely with Brantley during his senior year at Tech.
"He had a great sense of humor and a really wonderful character," Roszak said. "He knew how to do what was right and held himself to very high standards."
The other name engraved will be Army staff Sgt. Jesse Clowers. He was killed in action during an IED attack in Afghanistan in August 2007. Clowers, a former Tech cheerleader, was married and had two children, including a young daughter he never got to meet. His will be the seventh name to be added to the memorial in the current situation in the Middle East.
The Ut Prosim Pylon is one of the eight sculptured limestone pylons on Memorial Court. The other pylons represent Tech values of brotherhood, honor, leadership, sacrifice, service, loyalty and duty.
The memorial was originally dedicated in 1960 to honor Tech alumni who lost their lives in World War II. Soon after, names were added from World War I and all military conflicts since.
The names added today will bring the total to 427.
"All of us in the corps are humbled by their service," Roszak said. "The university motto is Ut Prosim. And they certainly demonstrated that to a level above and beyond."
The ceremony today will include a speech by President Charles Steger and will end with an unveiling of the newly engraved pylon by the families of the deceased.
Jared Antolin, current freshman in the corps, said this tradition is important because it shows that Tech students have done their part and given the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
"Out of respect for them, it's a good thing," Antolin said.
Antolin, who plans to pursue a career in the Navy, said it's a reminder to people who are in the corps, but also those who aren't.
"It's important to honor the people that went to war so you didn't have to," Antolin said.
The ceremony is open to the public. It is expected to last half an hour.
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Cadets, I know that sometimes there is friction with the non-corps community at Virginia Tech (I hope no one starts that here), but I hope you know there are many of us who have nothing but respect for you and your organization, even the non-enlistees. Tech wouldnt b the same without you.
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IMHO, the statement "...a ceremony will be held this afternoon at War Memorial Pylons to honor Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets alumni who have recently died..." glosses over the importance of their sacrifice. These folks died at a very young age serving their country -- they didn't pass away peacefully in their sleep at 70.
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Corps Alum, my grandfather served in Korea and died peacefully in his sleep at 70. I don't think he's "less important" than those whose names are on the pylons. Be careful when you start saying that certain lives are more important than others. I'm glad the CT let us know about this event.
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Coward, I don't think he's saying that the lives were more important. The sacrifice, is, however. Someone cut down violently in his twenties is a bigger sacrifice than one who lived a full life and died peacefully in his sleep. I think if anything glosses over it the line "in the current situation in the Middle East" in the above story certainly does. It's not a situation, it's a war.
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I don't know, Chip. I'd have to say that putting your life on the line is the sacrifice. I don't think less of soldiers (or sailors - my grandfather was in the Navy) because they live.
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Corps Alum, I think this article didn't mean to downplay sacrifice -- I think it's written very well considering it's a news piece and not an editorial, obituary, or the like. The author doesn't a pretty good job at including GREAT quotes that make the point about the sacrifices made. Good journalists know that matters such as this are far better told in the words of others who are involved. This is a news piece and writers have to keep a certain amount of rigidity (its just a rule of journalism).
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Coward, I couldn't disagree more on this one. To sacrifice is to give something up. Being killed in combat is, in fact, often referred to as the ultimate sacrifice. This is not at all to diminish your grandfather's service, but someone who makes it home from the war has not sacrificed nearly as much as the ones who don't. I am on my third tour in Iraq and will have spent more than four years in the Middle East since 9/11 and I suppose it could be said I have sacrificed. Certainly I have sacrificed time with my family. But, assuming I make it home, my sacrifice pales in comparison to those of my fellows who were killed over here. Consider this: Had your grandfather been killed in Korea you might not have even been born, but you definitely would not have known him or he you.
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