Nov. 5, 2003

Contact: Cadet Andy Giebler, KU Air Force ROTC, (620) 793-0406.

KU ROTC units to observe Veterans Day with ceremony, lecture, 24-hour vigil

LAWRENCE -- The University of Kansas will observe Veterans Day, Tuesday, Nov. 11, with a 4 p.m. joint retreat ceremony at the flagpole in front of Strong Hall, a 4:15 address by a retired Air Force pilot from Derby in the Kansas Union, and a 24-hour vigil at the campus Vietnam Memorial beginning at 6 p.m.

Cadets and midshipmen and -women from KU's ROTC units for the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force will participate in the ceremony and vigil. Retired Air Force Col. James Riley, a World War II B-24 pilot from Derby, will speak at 4:15 p.m. in Woodruff Auditorium at the Kansas Union. KU's Arnold Air Society sponsors Riley's talk.

At the end of his talk, Riley will be asked to light the lamp that will be carried to the Vietnam Memorial for the 24-hour vigil that begins at 6 p.m. Cadet Andrew "Andy" Giebler, commander of the Arnold Air Society at KU and a Great Bend junior majoring in physics and mathematics, is organizing the ROTC Veterans Day observances at KU.

Giebler is the son of Steven and Debra Giebler of Great Bend. He is a Hoisington High School graduate.

KU's Air Force ROTC also is sponsoring a flyover before the KU vs. University of Nebraska football game at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, in Memorial Stadium. In cooperation with Whiteman's Air Force 509th Bomb Wing, based in Johnson County, Mo., a B-2 Spirit bomber will fly over the stadium just after the KU band performs the national anthem.

Maj. Jeffrey L. Long of the 393rd Bomb Squadron, also based at Whiteman Air Force Base, will be in the stadium to guide the plane as it flies over. Long was a wide receiver at KU in 1984.

Cadets from KU's Air Force ROTC Detachment 280 will present the colors before the game.

Col. Michael D. Lee, director of KU's Air Force ROTC program, said KU's Veterans Day observances would honor the men and women of the armed forces who have served to maintain freedom, as well as those who gave up their peace of mind while loved ones served.