Lipscomb brings together alumni, faculty and student veterans at honorary events

Janel Shoun | 

 

The Lipscomb contingent at the Nashville Veterans' Day Parade.
Inaugural Veteran Dinner
Lipscomb's jazz ensembles performed for the veterans.
Three-star General John Bradley spoke at the Inaugural Veteran Dinner.
Fifty veterans honored at The Gathering, Lipscomb's largest weekly chapel service.
Students heard four Lipscomb veterans discuss personal experiences in the military.
Lipscomb University’s first Veterans’ Day two-day celebration drew a diverse group of alumni, faculty and student military veterans to various events, including a formal dinner Tuesday evening featuring three-star general John Bradley.
 
Lt. General John A. Bradley, a retired general who served as Commander of the Air Force Reserve Command, spoke to a gathering of about 75 veterans at the Inaugural Veteran Dinner in the Ezell Center.
 
As Commander of Air Force Reserve Command, Gen. Bradley had responsibility for all U.S. Air Force Reserve units around the world. In 2008, Gen. Bradley founded the Lamia Afghan Foundation, a non-profit charity based in Nashville and dedicated to providing aid and resources to the disadvantaged people and children of Afghanistan.
 
This fall the university began participation in the federal Yellow Ribbon Program, which provides tuition scholarships for eligible veterans and encourages universities to match that scholarship, allowing veterans to attend college for free. Lipscomb University is one of a small group of universities that took on the challenge to guarantee free tuition to veterans eligible for the Yellow Ribbon program.
 
Yellow Ribbon participation spurred additional enhancements to serve veterans on campus, including the establishment of the Campus Veterans Organization, a chapter of the national Student Veterans of America. On Tuesday, Nov. 10, Lipscomb’s alumni and faculty veterans were inducted into the campus organization as members.
 
Previously on Tuesday, about 50 veterans joined Lipscomb students for chapel in Allen Arena. A slideshow showed photos of each veteran during their active-duty days.
 
Students showed their support by donating backpacks to the Lamia Afghan Foundation, an organization founded by Gen. Bradley to provide a school and needed resources to children in Afghanistan.
 
Students and veterans also attended a panel discussion featuring a Lipscomb veteran from every major war the U.S. has been since World War II.
  • Alumnus George McIntosh represented World War II
  • Alumnus Tom Burton represented the Vietnam War
  • Faculty member Chuck Capps represented Desert Storm and Desert Shield, as well as Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan
  • Current student Kevin Keaton represented Operation Enduring Freedom and the current Iraqi conflict
 
The panelists shared with students stories of morale-building in the troops, innovative ways they made life on the front lines more comfortable, how they were treated upon returning to America and how the military prepared them to become servants and leaders on the home front.
 
On Wednesday, Nov. 11, about 30 Lipscomb military veterans marched in Nashville's Veterans' Day Parade, along with Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts of all ageas.  According to parade coordinators, this is the first time in recent history that an area university has featured its alumni veterans marching in the event.