The Associated Students of Madison held a press conference Monday to announce it will be sponsoring a series of commemorative events this week leading up to a Veteran's Day parade on Nov. 11.
As part of their Support the Troops Campaign and Soldier Appreciation Week on campus, ASM officials said they are attempting to dispel the Madison and University of Wisconsin liberal "nuance" toward not supporting the military. Because many students and alumni of the university are also soldiers, the events are intended to bring a non-political resurgence of support for them during wartime.
Members have also presented a resolution to the Wisconsin State Legislature naming this Thursday "Wisconsin ROTC Appreciation Day." The Legislature will hold a vote on the resolution today.
"The purpose of this is to honor those who have served, currently serve and will serve," Support the Troops campaign Chair Brandon Sivret said. "And we believe that UW students fall into all those categories … we currently have students overseas who are serving, [and] we have the ROTC on campus which is producing officers for the future of the armed forces."
To exclude politics from the parade, Sivret said only neutral veterans' groups were asked to participate. By doing so, Sivret added the event's commemorative focus will not be lost to politics.
"Basically we want to go with established veteran's groups that do not have an agenda," he said. "This is not a forum for political statement. This is a forum for appreciation of soldiers … we want to honor them because it's a national holiday, and that's our focus."
So far, Sivret said Vietnam Veterans of America and Veterans of Foreign Wars have signed on to participate in the parade and Vets for Vets may also join in. Organizers are also in the process of contacting UW veterans and soldiers for the event.
If the event is successful, it will be the first Veteran's Day Parade in Madison's recent memory.
"This is the first year in a long time that they've had a veteran's [parade]," Vice Chair of the Support the Troops campaign Robert Thelen said. "Really, we just wanted to get it going."
Thelen said since the infamous riots in the '60s in protest of the Vietnam War, Madison has carried a typecast as being unsupportive of the military. The events of this week aim to breakdown that misconception.
"We want to take away the negative stereotype and show that Madison is a reasonable place and a place that respects soldiers," he said.
Thelen added the parade is quite possibly the first since the mid-'80s.
The parade is set to start on Gilman Street near James Madison Park and travel towards State Street, ending outside the Wisconsin State Historical Society building for a reception inside the lobby.
To further display support for the troops, ASM and various other student organizations will be sponsoring a UW soldier overseas, providing him or her with a helmet upgrade kit for added protection.
In addition to the parade, ASM will hold a POW and MIA remembrance and reveille Tuesday on Library Mall, placing 1,111 U.S. flags into the ground there.
On Wednesday, members will visit Madison's Veteran's Hospital and present soldiers with thank yous from the Arnold Air Society.
Thursday will feature veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan speaking at Vilas Hall.
