AMES, Iowa — Four former Iowa State University students will be recognized for their military service, and their ultimate sacrifice, at the annual Gold Star Hall ceremony.
The ceremony will take place at 3:15 p.m. Monday, Nov. 11, in the Memorial Union Great Hall. This event is open to the public. Light refreshments will be available following the ceremony.
Photos, memorabilia and the personal stories of four ISU students – three who served in World War II and one who served in Vietnam – will be shared at the Gold Star Hall ceremony. The 75th anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge will also be recognized.
The Gold Star Hall ceremony honors Iowa State students who lost their lives in war. Former students’ names are engraved on the Gold Star Hall walls if they attended Iowa State full-time for one or more semesters and died while in military service in a war zone. As names become known, they are added to the wall and the service members are honored in Iowa State’s annual Veterans Day observance.
The family and friends of these four fallen heroes will be in attendance so that they may see the names of their loved ones forever memorialized in Gold Star Hall.
The ceremony will include the stories of each honoree, as well as taped comments from ISU President Wendy Wintersteen, presentation of the colors by members of Iowa State ROTC, singing of the National Anthem and taps played by ISU students.
- Schuyler Wheeler, Boone, studied dairy industry at Iowa State from 1939 to 1941. He joined the U.S. Army on July 12, 1942. Wheeler was killed Dec. 15, 1944, while trying to help liberate Ensdorf, Germany.
- John Fuller, Milford, studied general engineering at Iowa State from 1938 to 1941. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps on Jan. 15, 1942. He was killed during the Battle of the Bulge near Bastogne, Belgium, on Dec. 23, 1944.
- Meredith DeRoy Winter, Dysart, studied chemistry at Iowa State from 1938 to 1943. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps in September 1943. Winter was killed Feb. 28, 1945, during the Battle of Iwo Jima.
- Kennith Tapscott, Charleston, South Carolina, studied political science at Iowa State from 1963 to 1967. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy to serve in the Vietnam War. Tapscott died Aug. 6, 1970, in Song Ong Doc, South Vietnam.
While their names are already engraved on the wall, these men have not yet been honored in a Gold Star Hall ceremony.
This ceremony begins a week of events on campus dedicated to honoring veterans (see sidebar).
Today, Gold Star Hall includes the names of the nearly 600 Iowa Staters who have died in war: in World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Somalia and in the Global War on Terrorism.
Honor veterans at Iowa State
- Friday, Nov. 8: Join ROTC cadets in a workout to honor and support our troops. 6 a.m. at Lied Recreation Center.
- Nov. 8-15: All visitors to the ISU Book Store will have the opportunity to make a donation to support the ISU Veterans Center.
- Monday, Nov. 11: All active-duty military and veterans admitted free to Reiman Gardens.
- Wednesday, Nov. 13: Students, faculty, staff and community members are invited to the annual community supper honoring veterans and their families. 5-7:30 p.m. in the Memorial Union Great Hall. RSVP requested by Nov. 6.
- Thursday, Nov. 14: Lecture: “Vietnam Veterans: Still Coming Home,” by Steve Feimer, professor emeritus of criminal justice at University of South Dakota. 7 p.m. in the Memorial Union South Ballroom.
Go to www.veterans.iastate.edu/calendar for more events happening the week of Nov. 11.
