The powerful voice of student Gerald Chaney belting out the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” greeted students who attended the first-ever Veterans Day Concert at NEIU on Monday Nov. 13 in the Auditorium.
The concert was sponsored by the Student Government Association (SGA) and was the result of a collaboration between SGA President Eron McCormick and Joe Hertel.
Hertel is a Vietnam veteran and NEIU student who has been active in the veterans community since the 1970s and founded the Viet Nam War Museum that formerly operated in the Uptown neighborhood.
Dr. Shayne Cofer directed the Wind Ensemble in performing such march songs as the “Armed Forces Medley” and John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever.”
Hertel was somber and reflective as he began the program, saying the concert was honoring “Millions of lives over the past two centuries that were sacrificed for one ideal, one dream, one hope.”
Hertel added that “freedom must be defended and protected” before he gave way to the Wind Ensemble’s rendition of Henry Fillmore’s “Americans We.”
McCormick next exclaimed to the crowd, “It’s truly a great day to be an American.” He announced that university President Salme Steinberg had officially named the garden outside the Student Union the Peace Garden, a project started by Hertel and championed by McCormick and the SGA. McCormick asked the audience to reflect on the day and to “take a moment to think about freedom.”
Hertel closed the afternoon by joining the debate as to whether gays and lesbians should be allowed to join the military, telling the audience, “I am against discrimination against anyone who wants to serve this country.”