Heroes remembered by candlelight

A gathering of patriots met at 8:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 8 at the bottom of DeMoss steps on each with a small, white candle in hand and overflowing gratitude in heart.

The third annual Candlelight Tribute Service for Fallen Heroes honored those who committed everything to freedom and paid for the liberty of future generations with their lives.

The ceremony opened in prayer, then voices broke the quiet darkness with the first verse of our national anthem.

After the song, Liberty professor Will Honeycutt honored fallen soldiers and attendees’ patriotism with a speech on the sacrifice of each member of the military, Lincoln’s acknowledgement of the fallen at Gettysburg and the history of the Star Spangled Banner. Honeycutt especially emphasized showing gratitude to student soldiers, actively supporting all troops and commemorating those at Liberty who have recently sacrificed their lives in combat.

“It’s a very personal connection for us,” Director of Military Affairs Emily Foutz said, “We’ve lost four students in recent years, and we want to pay tribute to them.”

SGT Jesse Strong, SPC Chrystal Stout, Captain Nicholas Giglio and SFC Ronald Grider were honored with a special tribute which was carried by servicemen into DeMoss and in front of the Memorial where it stayed through for the rest of Military Emphasis Week.

Mandi Verlander, founder of “Students Behind Our Soldiers,” emphasized the need to “Get the word out about the memorial.” She encouraged students to bring in pictures and letters honoring their fallen classmates.

After the memorial was set in place, all attending servicemen, some in full dress, some in civilian-wear, gathered in a circle and were prayed over by the group.

“Liberty really tries to make sure the military knows how much we support and appreciate what they have sacrificed for our freedom,” Verlander said.

Nathan Lowmaster, who after a year at West Point and a year with ROTC at Elmira College in New York,  is now involved in ROTC here with 11 Bravo National Guard Infantry attended the event.

“It’s just nice to know you’ve got a school that is so supportive and appreciative of our founding principles. That’s what I personally fight for,” Lowmaster said.

Liberty Military Affairs is an on-campus and online community, reaching 13,000 service veterans and military spouses through email and their website. E-mails are sent out to students living in a 50-mile radius of campus and events are posted online for members to view.

“We are really excited to have this small community to honor our veterans… I just really want everyone to be involved if they can,” Foutz said.

For information on how to get involved with military affairs e-mail militaryoutreach@liberty.edu.