Veterans Week Events Coincide with 100th Anniversary of the End of WW I

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A week of events are scheduled on and around Nov. 11 at the University of Arkansas and in the Northwest Arkansas community, to honor U.S. veterans of military service. This year Veterans Day also marks the 100th anniversary of the end of fighting in World War I.

Beginning in 1919, Nov. 11 was celebrated as “Armistice Day” in the U.S. and many other countries, to mark the day an armistice agreement was signed, ending fighting in World War I. The holiday was changed to “Veterans Day” in the U.S. a few years after the end of World War II – and broadened into a day to honor all military veterans.

This year the U of A Veterans Resource and Information Center is coordinating several events during a campus-wide Veterans Week. Community events are also included.

• Tuesday, Nov. 6: At noon Marine Corps veterans and third-year law students Kevin Flores and Ty Bordenkircher will host a cake-cutting ceremony at noon in the E.J. Ball Courtroom as an early celebration of the 243rd birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps – which actually falls on Nov. 10. Marines across campus are invited to attend, along with other veterans and the rest of the campus community.
• Thursday, Nov. 8: The Veterans Resource and Information Center will host it’s annual Veterans Day Breakfast Celebration, from 8:30-10:30 a.m. at the center, in the Garland Center. All U of A students, staff, and faculty who are military veterans are invited.
• Friday, Nov. 9: The Associated Student Government presents a Veterans Day Commemoration from 2-3 p.m. in the Reynolds Center Auditorium, with a guest speaker from Veterans Affairs. 
• Saturday, Nov. 10: The the Armed Forces Alumni Society and the Master of Science in Operations Management Alumni Society are hosting a catered meal for veterans during the Hog Wild Tailgate at the Arkansas Alumni House, about two and a half hours before the Razorbacks take on LSU. Veterans can register here by Nov. 7 to attend.
• Sunday, Nov 11: A ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the Armistice will be held at 6 a.m. at the National Cemetery in Fayetteville.
• Sunday, Nov. 11: A screening of the classic silent film Wings will be held at 2 p.m. in the Jim and Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center, hosted by the Department of Communication’s Film Appreciation Society and its partners. The film portrays men who flew during the “Great War,” and is being shown to commemorate the 100th anniversary of that war’s end. Wings, was the first film to win an Oscar as Best Picture – and the only silent film to win it. This screening will feature live music by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra, a group of classically trained musicians from Boulder, Colorado.
• Tuesday, Nov. 13: The Armed Forces Alumni Society will honor veterans at a reception from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Arkansas Alumni House. The group will be collecting food items for the Veterans Resource and Information Center Food Pantry and suggests contributions such as single serve mac and cheese cups, cookies, snack packs, meal kits and water or other drinks.