BOONE, N.C. — Throughout the year, Appalachian State University’s Veterans Memorial serves as an ever-present reminder of the ultimate sacrifice made by those who served in the armed forces. On Memorial Day, commemorated on the last Monday in May, it holds elevated meaning as the Appalachian Community reflects on the importance of the occasion.

About Memorial Day

Memorial Day is an American holiday celebrated on the last Monday of May to honor the men and women who have died while serving in the military.

Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. The first national celebration of Memorial Day took place May 30, 1868, at Arlington National Cemetery.

How Memorial Day is commemorated

It is traditional to fly the U.S. flag at half-staff from dawn until noon. Many people visit cemeteries and memorials, particularly to honor those who have died in military service. In national cemeteries, volunteers place an American flag on each grave.

The wearing of poppies in honor of America’s war dead is traditional on Memorial Day. The origin of the red poppy as a modern-day symbol of this day was conceived by Moina Michael after reading John McCrae’s 1915 poem “In Flanders Fields.”

In war-torn battlefields, the red field poppy (Papaver rhoeas) was one of the first plants to grow. Its seeds scattered in the wind and sat dormant in the ground, only germinating when the ground is disturbed — as it was by the brutal fighting during World War I.

Today, poppies are both the symbol of loss of life as a symbol of recovery and new life, especially in support of those in service who were damaged physically or emotionally.

Holding close our military community

Mountaineers David and Christy Cook reflect on their military service

May 28, 2021

App State staff member David H. Cook and his wife, Christy M. Cook ’18, a faculty member in the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, were selected by Chancellor Sheri Everts to lay a wreath at App State’s Veterans Memorial to commemorate Memorial Day — a day honoring those who have died in service to their country. The couple reflects on their careers in the U.S. Air Force and at App State.

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Mountaineer military trailblazer honored

March 20, 2020

App State’s first African American female ROTC graduate, Edna W. Cummings ’78, is one of the newest inductees in the U.S. Army Women’s Foundation Hall of Fame. Cummings is a retired Army colonel with a distinguished 25-year military career.

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Caring for the veteran population

May 26, 2021

Haley Love ’18, a third-generation nurse, is pursuing her M.S. in nursing through App State. Love is an adjunct clinical instructor at App State and also works with veterans at W.G. (Bill) Hefner VA Medical Center in Salisbury. “Caring for the veteran population requires patience, understanding and excellent communication skills to build a trusting relationship with the patient,” she said.

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Mountaineer approaches physics with military discipline

Jan. 8, 2021

App State senior Steven Klingler applies discipline developed in his military career to excel as a student studying applied physics.

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App State named a Top 10 Military Friendly School for 2021–22

March 30, 2021

App State has earned the No. 6 spot among large public schools receiving the Top 10 Military Friendly® Schools honor for 2021–22. This designation, awarded by VIQTORY, recognizes U.S. higher education institutions for their support of and resources for student veterans and active-duty military members. App State has been named among the nation’s Military Friendly Schools for more than a decade.

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‘Saint Francis’s Satyr Butterfly’

By Joseph Bathanti

“All creatures have the same source as we have.” — Saint Francis of Assisi

A reclusive small brown butterfly,
white and yellow stigmatic suns

deployed along its wing ridges,
Saint Francis’s Satyr — christened

after the 12th century Italian soldier
and POW turned mystic —

secretes itself, miraculously,
in 10 by 10 kilometers

of the 251 square mile brash
of Fort Bragg — exact coordinates classified —

beyond which — we know this much —
it has gone undetected. Shy, endangered,

preferring anonymity, it hides
in high artillery impact domains —

life often chooses death —
the fires triggered by bombardment.

It wears Marsh camouflage,
resembles in its favored habitat —

blasted sedge and beaver ruins —
a tiny standard issue

Advanced Combat Helmet.
Parsed from the chrysalis,

rent too soon from its dream of living,
the satyr blazes in desperate glory

but three or four days,
in its imaginal stage,

then tenders its life in writ sacrifice.
Its gorgeous numbers dwindle.

The caterpillar has never been seen.
We accept, on faith, metamorphosis.

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This poem originally appeared in War, Literature & the Arts: An International Journal of the Humanities, published by the Department of English and Fine Arts at the United States Air Force Academy.

A species of butterfly found only at the Fort Bragg military installation in Fayetteville inspired former Poet Laureate of North Carolina (2012–14) Joseph Bathanti to craft the poem “Saint Francis’s Satyr Butterfly,” featured in full above.

Bathanti, who is a professor of creative writing and the McFarlane Family Distinguished Professor in Interdisciplinary Education at Appalachian, is also a dedicated advocate for veterans — facilitating numerous workshops and writing projects for military veterans and their families managing the aftereffects of combat and trauma related to military service.

He has authored 17 books, served as the 2016 Charles George VA Medical Center Writer-in-Residence in Asheville and received the 2016 North Carolina Award for Literature.

He allows the reprinting of his poem at Memorial Day.

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Student Veteran Services

Student Veteran Services at Appalachian State University is dedicated to helping the university’s military-affiliated students thrive on campus and in the Boone community. The unit does so by connecting student veterans and military-affiliated students with services and resources that are commensurate with their needs, capabilities and contributions. These resources and services include the Major General Edward M. Reeder Jr. Student Veteran Resource Center, priority registration, scholarship opportunities, a Student Veteran Association and others.

Learn more

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.