Doane has a long history of supporting active military members and veterans. The college hosted the Student Army Training Corps in 1918 to train officers for WWI, and the V-5 and V-12 Navy college training programs during WWII.
Owl articles from 1917 and 1918 emphasized that female students actually had to be told to put down their needles as they spent all hours knitting socks for soldiers, and that students left the college to become “potatriots,” working the family farm to provide for the war effort. Articles from the 1940s shared a similar sentiment.
More recently — for the past 13 years, in fact — Doane has held a public event on Veterans Day to honor and recognize veterans on campus and in the community. The event has been organized and led primarily by Dr. Jay Gilbert, director of instrumental music.
Throughout the early aughts, Gilbert had watched many young men and women get sent to, and return from, Iraq and Afghanistan. He wanted to show veterans of all ages that their work and sacrifice is appreciated and remembered.
“I had a feeling that we should do something to recognize our veterans,” he said.
He also wanted to pass that mindset to his students, many of whom have, or will go on to be music educators themselves and have the capability to host similar events for the schools and communities where they work. Even for those who don’t become educators, it’s a good experience to learn about giving back to the community.
This year, even with the pandemic, the rows of Heckman Auditorium were filled with veterans, their families, and Doane students and employees. In fact, it had some of the highest attendance in Gilbert’s memory.
Prior to the event, veterans and families chatted outside the auditorium. Sarah McNeel, director of veteran/military student services at Doane, handed out stickers and red ribbons. Cards were available to thank veterans — many had already been written by students throughout the day, too. Those that weren’t addressed to specific people were delivered by McNeel to local retirement and nursing homes.
Major General Roger Lempke spoke during the ceremony about the changes in warfare during this century, about the different struggles and challenges faced by veterans over the years, and the importance of supporting veterans. This is the second time Lempke, a retired U.S. Air Force officer and adjutant general of the Nebraska National Guard, has spoken at Doane’s Veterans Day event.
The ceremonies change over the years. Other speakers have included former Doane President Fred Brown ‘59, and Senator Tom Brewer ‘84, who served 36 years in the U.S. Army and currently represents District 43 in the state unicameral. The first concert in 2008 recognized Sgt. Michael Scusa, who grew up in Crete. Scusa was killed a year later while on tour in Afghanistan.
Throughout the event, the Doane Band performed patriotic music, including a medley of each military branch’s songs, with veterans from the Army, Coast Guard, Marines, Air Force and Navy asked to rise. Veterans from all branches were represented, and included Doane faculty, students and parents, as well as many community members. Dr. Wayne Reynolds, pastor at Crete’s Grace United Methodist Church, led prayers. A chair was left empty as part of a brief POW/MIA ceremony and colors were presented by Hallam’s American Legion Post 294.
Afterward, Gilbert led speakers, veterans and their families to the cafeteria. Dinner and conversation was enjoyed in a separate conference room.
“I’m very grateful to Doane University for allowing us the privilege of putting on a Veterans Day event,” Gilbert said. “And to Sodexo for honoring our vets by giving them free dinner.”
