University and community members gathered throughout this Veterans Day to honor and celebrate those who have served in the armed forces. The day began with the Run for the Fallen, first founded by University professor Jon Bellona in 2008 when he led a group from California to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Texas, in honor of every soldier who was killed in Iraq. The Ford Alumni Center hosted a reception where four Pat Tillman Scholars were recognized. The event also had a keynote by Register Guard columnist and author, Bob Welch. Throughout the day the names of the fallen soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan were read in the EMU amphitheater, often making students pause on their way to class. Last, a flag was presented to Linda Gibson and her family. Gibson, who lost her son in Iraq in 2006, started the very first Run for the Fallen in Oregon and is active in veterans affairs.
John Bellona (center), an adjunct professor in the Digital Arts Department leads the 2011 Eugene Run for the Fallen along 13th Ave on campus Friday, November 11, 2011. Bellona founded the run in 2008 in honor of his college roommate who was killed in the Iraq War. (Jeff Matarrese/Oregon Daily Emerald)
Run for the Fallen founder Jon Bellona is warmly greeted by good friend, Simon Blatz after the 5k on the morning of Friday, November 11, 2011. (Jeff Matarrese/Oregon Daily Emerald)
A crowd full of veterans, ROTC members, University faculty, students, and supporters gather in the Ford Alumni Center to recognize the University’s Pat Tillman Scholarship receipents. The event also featured keynote speaker Bob Welch, an author and columnist for the Register Guard in Eugene. (Jeff Matarrese/Oregon Daily Emerald)
Author and columnist Bob Welch speaks at the Veterans Day reception in the Ford Alumni Center on Friday, November 11, 2011. (Jeff Matarrese/Oregon Daily Emerald)
University freshman John Church plays his Euphonium in the University’s Euphonium and Tuba Ensemble in honor of Veterans Day at the Ford Alumni Center on Friday, November 11, 2011. (Jeff Matarrese/Oregon Daily Emerald)
Color guard members Emily Farrell, Tyler Ashcraft, Oliver Howe and Ethan Shook gather and snack on refreshments at the Veterans Day reception in the Ford Alumni Center on Friday, November 11, 2011. (Jeff Matarrese/Oregon Daily Emerald)
Pat Tillman Scholarship recipients Bryan Boender and Kelly Christensen talk at the Veterans Day reception at the Ford Alumni Center on Friday, November 11, 2011. Boender and Christensen, who have both served in the armed forces, are studying Law and Historic Preservation respectively at the University. (Jeff Matarrese/Oregon Daily Emerald)
James Ranney, a University student studying chemistry, sits and listens to the reading of names at the EMU amphitheater on Friday, November 11, 2011. The ceremony calls off the names of over 6,000 soldiers and civilians who have lost their lives in the Iraq and Afganistan wars. Ranney, who has no direct connection to the military, thought it was important to honor those who “desrve a lot of respect” for serving. (Jeff Matarrese/Oregon Daily Emerald)
Petty Officer 2nd Class and University Student Bryan Heder reads the names of those fallen in the Iraq and Afganistan Wars on Friday, November 11, 2011. (Jeff Matarrese/Oregon Daily Emerald)
Linda Gibson, with her husband John and grandson Blake, receives the nation’s colors in honor of her fallen son on Friday, November 11, 2011. Gibson started the first ever Run for the Fallen event in Oregon in 2007. (Jeff Matarrese/Oregon Daily Emerald)