Roll call honors fallen soldiers

Sophomore Sefra Lao’s father has served in the Marines for more than 20 years. He’s… Sophomore Sefra Lao’s father has served in the Marines for more than 20 years. He’s currently based in California, and her brother will soon follow in their father’s footsteps. But she never immediately knew the significance of their efforts.

Lao, who works in the Office of Veterans Services on campus, was asked to volunteer at the Veterans Day roll call on Friday in the Tansky Family Lounge in the William Pitt Union. Lao and about 30 other Pitt students, staff and faculty spent seven hours on Veterans Day reading the names of the 6,312 servicemen and servicewomen who have lost their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq since Sept. 11, 2001.

“It wasn’t until I came here [to the event] that I understood the importance of the cause,” Lao said during the roll call. “To the soldiers, thank you so much.”

With her family in mind, Lao helped pass out yellow ribbons, which represented support for the Armed Forces, to readers as they finished their list of names. After readers received the ribbons, they placed them on a wreath and wrote a message to soldiers.

“A lot of these names are people we served with, so we want to pay homage to them,” Veterans Benefits Coordinator Dennis Renner said.

Renner spent 24 years in the Army, stationed in locations across the world including Germany, Korea, Iraq and Fort Campbell, Ky.

Six months ago, the Army veteran received an email from Lt. Col. Brett Morris, Ret., associate director of veterans affairs at Eastern Kentucky University, requesting that Pitt hold the ceremony.

Morris initiated the Remembrance Day Roll Call last year at Eastern Kentucky, and he decided to promote the event this year by sending out a request to colleges and universities across the nation.

“The goal was to get at least one university in each state to participate in the roll call, and that goal was met,” Renner said.

More than 160 colleges and universities in all 50 states signed up for the event, and Pitt was the first Pennsylvania school to do so. California University of Pennsylvania, Community College of Philadelphia, the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and Shippensburg University also participated.

Each of the 150 volunteers at Pitt, who came and went throughout the day, read aloud the names of the fallen soldiers, placed a yellow ribbon on a wire wreath and wrote a message on a large sign featuring the words, “Thank you veterans. Remembering those who served our nation.”

One anonymous message read, “All give some, but some give all. Gone but not forgotten. Thank you to all veterans who served and are currently serving this country.”

The number of volunteers for the roll call impressed the Office of Veterans Services — even more than it expected.

“We actually had to turn people away because there were too many volunteers,” Renner said.

The event even attracted spectators from outside Pitt.

Emily Ecker and Alyssa Tempus are members of AmeriCorps, specifically the Public Allies program which trains them to become better assets to nonprofit organizations.

As a service project, the two young women have decided to focus on veterans services, which led them to the Remembrance Day National Roll Call.

“We’re here today to listen and learn,” Ecker said.

Tempus said an event like last Friday’s not only inspires people, but also teaches them what kind of veterans services are already offered and what else needs to be done.

Outreach coordinator Janet Owens said Pitt’s Office of Veterans Services provides as much help as it can to veterans so that the transition from military to civilian life is as smooth as possible. With 512 veterans on campus this year, Pitt’s veteran enrollment has increase by 180 percent since 2009, when the newest GI Bill took effect.

“We have a very veteran-friendly University,” Owens said. “An event like this is one more way that we try our best to honor and do justice for those who sacrifice their lives.”