UT Martin plans Memorial Day observance on May 22; area veterans to be recognized

Col. Chuck Harrison, inspector general for the Tennessee National Guard, will be the guest speaker at the ninth annual Memorial Day Commemoration at the University of Tennessee at Martin.
The event is set for 9 a.m. May 22 at the Hall-Moody Administration Building entrance on campus.
Harrison served in and was commissioned as an armor officer in the Tennessee National Guard while attending UT Martin, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history. He earned a master’s degree in national security affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif.
He also completed Command and General State College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and, in 2004, received the U.S. Army Senior Service College Fellowship, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, in Cambridge, Mass.
He has received the Silver Star, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star and Meritorious Service Medal with three Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, among others. In 2005, he was inducted into the UT Martin ROTC Hall of Fame.
Area veterans who plan to attend the program at UT Martin are asked to call Janice Sims at (731) 881-7150 to confirm attendance so they can be recognized during the event.
Capt. Jeff Crawford, assistant professor of military science and recruiting operations officer, will serve as master of ceremonies. Dr. Robert Mancusi, assistant professor of music, will perform the national anthem and Col. Bob Smith, retired UT Martin Physical Plant employee, will offer the invocation. Dr. Tom Rakes, UT Martin chancellor, will welcome guests and Gerry Gallimore, UT Martin building and grounds staff member and a U.S. Army veteran, will give the benediction.
The Tennessee National Guard will present the colors before the ceremony.
UT Martin Department of Public Safety and Martin Police Department personnel will honor area veterans with a gun salute.
The event is free and open to the public. Parking is available in the Hardy M. Graham Stadium parking lot directly across from the Hall-Moody Administration Building. Eastbound and westbound traffic on University Street, in front of the administration building, will be stopped briefly as the flag ceremony begins and during the gun salute.
In case of rain, the event will be moved to the Glenn Gallien Auditorium in Gooch Hall on the UT Martin campus.
Published in The Messenger 5.15.09

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