Retired Maj. Gen. Peggy Combs, the keynote speaker for Syracuse University’s Veterans Day Ceremony, asked veterans in the Hendricks Chapel audience to stand and be recognized.

They were met with applause. Combs, an SU alumna, retired after 33 years of service in a closed ceremony on Thursday. On Friday morning, she spoke to an audience of hundreds of SU community members about the values of military service.

About 300 people, including SU alumni, students and administrators attended the ceremony in Hendricks Chapel on Friday, two days before Veterans Day on Sunday.

Combs spoke about institutional values prominent within the military, which she encouraged veterans and supporters of veterans alike to live by so that people can take the country “to the next level of excellence.” Those seven values are loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage — together they spell out LDRSHIP, or leadership.

Retired Maj. Gen. Peggy Combs speaks about military values as part of her keynote speech. She is an alumna of Syracuse University’s ROTC program and recently retired after 33 years of service in the U.S. Army.
Dan Lyon | Staff Photographer

“Do something bigger than yourself for somebody else,” Combs said as she talked about selfless service.

She said that there are about 21 million veterans in the U.S. representing about 7 percent of the population. People constantly ask her whether the 7 percent can make a difference, she said.

“Yes it can,” she said. She referred to the Continental Army, which represented less than 1 percent of the population at the time when it defeated the British military 242 years ago.

Combs said she was proud of SU for being a champion of veterans and for modeling those values. She added that the university’s students embrace commitment and resilience every day.

She closed her speech by urging the audience to express their gratitude for veterans and for those supporting veterans.

“Never forget that freedom isn’t free,” she said. “It’s borne on the backs of about 1.4 million in active service right now.”

Before introducing Combs, Chancellor Kent Syverud spoke about SU’s long tradition of being a home to veterans.

“For all the veterans who are here today, you stand here as representatives for thousands and thousands of veterans who have passed through this chapel,” Syverud said.

Adam LeGrand, an SU graduate student and U.S. Air Force veteran, also spoke at the event. LeGrand is the president of the Student Veterans Organization at SU.

He said student veterans were accomplishing goals and filling leadership positions on campus and within the community.

Korean War veterans render salute as the flag is raised and a trumpeter plays.
Dan Lyon | Staff Photographer

“I’m proud to call myself a student veteran,” he said, adding that the future is bright because of SU and its current student veterans, “as current and future generations of veterans transition from boots to books.”

Janet Kiper, an attendee and Combs’ family friend, said after the event that it is important to appreciate service members every day and not only during Veterans Day.

Kiper’s daughter is the superintendent of an office for veterans affairs in Illinois. She said her daughter sees how important it is that people remember veterans and take care of them when they come back from active service.

“They do need to be remembered because many of them struggle and they’re young,” Kipler said. “They’ve lived a life I’ve never had to live and my children never had to live,” she said.

The Syracuse University Singers performed renditions of “Wade in the Water” and “America the Beautiful.”

Members of the 198th Army Band played service anthems in succession to recognize veterans that have served or are currently serving in the military. Veterans stood for their call and received applause from the audience.

The ceremony continued outside at the Quad with the raising of the American flag and the presentation of wreath in honor of veterans who have died in service.

Published on November 9, 2018 at 11:37 pm

Contact Carolina: crespina@syr.edu