Stanford and Palo Alto Hold Fifth Annual Veterans Day Celebration; Vietnam Veteran Receives Quilt of Valor
Stanford University, the City of Palo Alto in Santa Clara County, California, and American Legion Post 375 held their fifth annual joint Veterans Day celebration on the afternoon of November 9 at the MacArthur Park restaurant in Palo Alto, according to Stanford Report on November 11. Community members and veterans attended to reflect on the service and sacrifices of those who serve and protect the nation.
The ceremony was led by Capt. Chris Rieping, a U.S. Army officer pursuing a master's degree at Stanford, and featured a keynote speech by Lt. Col. Tyler J. Jensen of U.S. Army Special Forces, a National Security Affairs Fellow at the Hoover Institution. During the event, Sgt. Joseph "Fighting Joe" Tucker Sr., who served with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam, was honored with a red, white and blue Quilt of Valor named "Normandy," presented by Donna Zolezzi of South Bay Blue Star Moms.
Michelle Landrey Cline, president of the Stanford Alumni Association, said in her speech that 45 of last June's graduate degree recipients were veterans or active-duty service members, and that 10 military veterans joined Stanford's undergraduate class this year. Palo Alto Vice Mayor Greer Stone also attended and spoke.
This year's venue, MacArthur Park, was built in 1918 as a YWCA hostess house for soldiers and their families during World War I. On Veterans Day itself, November 11, Stanford placed floral wreaths and a president's letter at Memorial Court and Memorial Auditorium, symbolizing the university's gratitude and respect for Stanford veterans' service and sacrifice.
Source: Stanford University
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：斯坦福大学纪念庭院（Memorial Court）入口。BrokenSphere 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Entrance to Stanford University's Memorial Court. Photo by BrokenSphere, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
