ETSU veterans led a service Monday honoring those that served and died in the military.
Retired Navy officer, Capt. William A. Coleman, spoke about how Veterans Day has changed and what it means to him.
Coleman, who is director of ETSU human resources, defined a veteran as someone who took the oath to protect and serve, has served 180 days in active duty and who has been honorably discharged.
“I think that those that have served honorably deserve the title of veterans,” said Coleman.
He said that people often get Memorial Day confused with Veterans Day. Memorial Day is a day for remembering those who have died in battle and in the service of their country.
He said that Veterans Day is to thank the living veterans.
Coleman said that America’s history needs to be inclusive of all the branches of military: Army, Navy, Marines, Airforce, Coast Guard, US Public Health Service, and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
“I think that our female service members deserve our respect and acknowledgement as full fledged veterans also,” Coleman said.
Coleman said that women have served as far back as the Civil War. They have served as volunteer nurses and cooks, and have also helped to reload the weapons for the soldiers.
He also spoke of the families and how we now have a new set of veterans in the Sept. 11 tragedy. He said that we have veterans of hostile acts. There are veterans in police officers, fire fighters, chaplains, nurses and emergency service personnel, businessmen and ordinary citizens who perished or were injured helping others or were simply going about their normal workdays.
Veterans Day started out as Armistice Day after World War I in 1918.
In 1938 Congress made Armistice Day a federal holiday. Then, in 1953, Emporia Kans. gathered and called in Veterans Day.
In 1971 President Nixon declared it a federal holiday on the second Monday in November. Then, in 1978 Congress moved it back to Nov. 11 instead of a Monday holiday.
Coleman, a graduate of ETSU, was born in Wise County and is a resident of Johnson City. He served in the Navy for 27 years.
Several ROTC cadets were promoted and awarded the Ranger Challenge Tab. Commander of the Buccaneer Battalion, Lt. Col. David Hubner, read a message from the Secretary of the Army and the Army Chief of Staff about the Sept. 11 tragedy and the plane crash on Tuesday morning.
ROTC cadets also lowered the American flag to Taps.

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