Contact: Wendy Kilmer, wendy.kilmer@acu.edu
Director of Strategic Communications

The public is invited to honor those who served in World War I this Veterans Day at an event organized by Abilene Christian University students on Monday, Nov. 11, at noon, at the Abilene Municipal Cemetery.

Attendees will hear names read aloud of the 344 World War I veterans who are buried in the Abilene Municipal Cemetery and learn about the new World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C.  This is the first Veterans Day since the national memorial, located near the White House, has opened. The public will also hear about the origins of the poppy as a remembrance symbol for World War I veterans.

“Every year, the nation honors all our veterans, from the various military conflicts in which America has fought,” said Dr. Neal Coates, chair of the ACU Department of Government and Criminal Justice.  “This year, with the creation of this new memorial in Washington, our students want to highlight World War I veterans. We hope Abilene residents and college students will come to Monday’s event, particularly because such a large number of veterans are buried here from the ‘War to End All Wars.’”

This Veterans Day event is planned by Bryson Frank, a senior political science major at ACU and a Jack Pope Fellow in the Department of Government and Criminal Justice.

About the World War I Memorial
The new World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C., includes the sculpture “A Soldier’s Journey” by Sabin Howard. It depicts the story of an American soldier being called to war, confronting the horrors of combat, reflecting on what occurred and returning to his wife and daughter. ACU alumnus Ted Poe, a former congressman for Texas’ 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, is on the Board of Directors for The Doughboy Foundation, which worked with the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission to create the new memorial.