Special Events to Commemorate End of World War I

Culver Academies will mark the centennial of the end of World War I on Nov. 11, 1918 with a weekend of special events culminating in its time-honored Veterans Day ceremony on Sunday, Nov. 11, with the Corps of Cadets stepping off at 10:40 a.m. for the 11 a.m. event.

The ceremony itself will be altered slightly to include the national Bells of Peace commemoration. The Memorial Chapel bells will ring 21 times in five-second intervals at 11 a.m. in remembrance of those who served and sacrificed.

Special guests at this year’s ceremony will include dignitaries from the six Allied nations that attended the original dedication of the Culver Memorial Legion Building in 1924: Romania, Great Britain, France, Serbia, Belgium, Romania, and Italy.

During World War I, 116, 516 Americans died and more than 200,000 were wounded. Culver Military Academy contributed nearly 3,500 alumni to the cause, and many served with distinction, including 85 who died in the war. The school’s leadership during the period just prior to the war was instrumental in helping generate such programs as the ROTC, and Culver gained an international name as a result of its contributions.

Following the war, dignitaries like General of the Armies John Pershing, Maj. Gen. Leonard Wood, and Gen. John A. Lejeune, among many others, visited the campus. The war also helped shape the physical campus even through today, by way of landmark structures and locations like Pershing Walk, the Legion Memorial Building, and Argonne and Chateau-Thierry barracks (which house Atrium, Ciel, Court, Harbor, and Tower dorms today).

The public is welcome to attend the following Culver Academies events:

·         12:30 p.m., Saturday, on campus: Flyover by the 122^nd Fighter Wing of the Indiana Air National Guard.

·         3 p.m., Saturday: Crisp Visual Arts Center: Opening of the exhibition “Hear Now the Roll Call, Gold Star Men of Culver – World War I” (publicly presenting for the first time since 1954, more than 60 recently-restored portraits of Culver alumni killed in the war, commissioned following the end of the war).

·         4:30 p.m., Saturday, Henderson Parade Field: Military retreat parade for special guest dignitaries representing the Allied nations.

·         10:40 a.m., Sunday, Legion Memorial Building: Veterans Day ceremony and the Bells of Peace at 11 a.m. Keynote speaker is Col. Al Shine, former Commandant of Cadets at CMA from 1990 to 2000.

·         1-5 p.m., Sunday, Crisp Visual Arts Center: “Hear Now the Roll Call, Gold Star Men of Culver – World War I.”

·         8 p.m., Tuesday, Eppley Auditorium: “Beyond Glory – True Stories of Medal of Honor Recipients” starring ‘Avatar’ actor Stephen Lang (part of the Huffington Concert Series; there is an admission charge for this event). Tickets will be available at Eppley Auditorium box office.