Tribute to veterans, retired combat pilot, to highlight ceremony Tuesday at UNC

CHAPEL HILL -- ROTC units at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will hold their annual ceremony to honor veterans Tuesday (Nov. 11) from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Frank Porter Graham Student Union.

The free, public event will be sponsored by UNC’s Army Institute of Leadership, Air Force and Navy ROTC units. The entire Tar Heel Brigade, composed of more than 150 UNC students, will present a solemn tribute to America’s veterans.

Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Norman Gaddis, who flew 72 combat missions in Vietnam and Laos, will speak. Gaddis served from 1942 to 1976, flying aircraft ranging from the P-51 Mustang to the F-4 Phantom jet. In 1967, his plane was shot down. He was a prisoner of war held by the North Vietnamese until his release in 1973.

The students, all Army and Air Force cadets and Navy midshipmen, will be in dress uniform, said Air Force Maj. Anthony C. Hensley, assistant professor of aerospace studies and ceremony coordinator.

"Veteran’s Day allows us to pause and recognize individuals among us who make a conscious decision to serve something bigger than themselves," Hensley said.

The ceremony will conclude with the playing of taps and service hymns. Attendees are invited to a reception afterward, sponsored by the UNC registrar’s office. For more information, call 962-2074.

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Contact: Maj. Anthony Hensley, 962-2074, hensleya@email.unc.edu
News Services Contact: Print, L.J. Toler, 962-8589; broadcast, Karen Moon, 962-8595