Veteran's Day

On November 7^th 2013 several cadets from Detachment 415 found themselves on the on the sideline of the Mall of America field, helping take part in a dedication to veterans and active duty personnel through the NFL’s Salute to Service program.  These cadets were in charge of initiating the cadet stunt that had been set up earlier in the week that stretched around the entire stadium.

Before any of this occurred though, the cadets had a chance to walk around the field and experience the VIP sideline experience. As we began walking around we were greeted by several active duty members as well as several veterans. The experiences and stories that these great men and women shared with us was truly awe inspiring. Many of them took an active interest in what ROTC and were very supportive of what we were doing, even going as far as offering pieces of advice on career choices, or which bases were the best to be deployed to.

When the time finally came for the card stunt to occur we walked out on the field into our spots that we had been assigned earlier in the day. We stood there with our yellow signs as we looked up into the seats. The Mall of America field was almost full that night and to stand there and list as the fans cheered and yelled as the various servicemen and women were being introduced was overwhelming. To see that much support and admiration from people was amazing! Once the nation anthem started we held up our cue cards to initiate the card stunt, and let me tell you something, it was amazing how it all came together. In one moment there was a sea of purple, and the next you could see the massive letters spelling out a thank you to veterans as well as the stars and stripes around the field. It was beautiful!

Once the card stunt was finished we began walking off the field to cheers and cries of admiration, people wanted to shake our hands and as they did continued to thank us over and over. It was overwhelming! I was honored and blessed to be able to be a part of that night.

  

We move forward to November 9^th 2013 the day of the Minnesota Penn State football game. This game was also a salute to veterans, and as such almost every member of their respective ROTC branch was present at the game. We all had several duties that day, such as handing out American flags before the game, being a part of the joint color guard and flag detail, or being a part of the tunnel crew. Due to the special nature of the game, the ROTC branches had also coordinated and planned out a T-6 Texan formation to fly over the field during the pre-game warm ups. That was truly a sight to see! It felt great to a part of the Veterans Day events here on our campus.

-Cadet Wells