Honoring sacrifice for our nation

Northeastern’s Student Veterans Organization and the NU ROTC Alumni Society held a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday morning to honor the men and women who have given their lives in military service to America.

The event, held at the university’s Veterans Memorial in the heart of campus, connected generations of current Northeastern students and graduates. Michael Trudeau—president-elect of the Student Veterans Organization, Northeastern’s chapter of Student Veterans for America—served as master of ceremonies.

“The true meaning of this day is to remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice and gave their lives so all of us can be free,” Trudeau said in opening remarks.

Dennis Amblo, SSH’12, the outgoing president of the organization, delivered the keynote address. Amblo grew up in a military family and has served two tours in Iraq. He explained how his own military experience has given him a greater understanding of the meaning of this day, especially after he returned from combat and attended a Memorial Day ceremony back home in Massachusetts.

“When I saw the older veterans standing in the crowd saluting, eyes swelling with pride for brothers lost in combat, I realized what this day really was,” he said.

The ceremony continued with a flag lowering, and Adam Beatty, vice president of the Student Veterans Organization, and Stephen Brainard, BA’64, of the NU ROTC Alumni Association, laid a wreath at the Veterans Memorial.

In closing remarks, William Maloney, BA’68, explained how the NU ROTC Alumni Association and the Student Veterans Organization connected following the Veterans Day ceremony last year to strengthen their relationship.

Maloney, who was a member of the Veterans Memorial Committee, said the memorial commemorates the members of the Northeastern community who have given their lives in service to the country. He said the memorial’s metal plates representing dog tags worn by servicemembers signify the memory of each individual’s great sacrifice in the country’s military conflicts from World War I to the present.

“There is not an old section and a new section. We will always be one,” he said.

Maloney also thanked Chuck Doughty, director of landscape facilities at Northeastern, and the rest of the Facilities staff for their hard work and dedication to maintaining the memorial in pristine condition. The memorial was dedicated on Veterans Day in 2006.