PNW Veteran’s Day Commemoration

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Jenna Gloy

Michigan City Junior ROTC gather for the flag-raising ceremony at Westville to honor the holiday.

PNW welcomed and commemorated veterans on Nov. 11 with a flag-raising ceremony, followed by a continental breakfast on both campuses.

Veterans Day is a day that gives Americans the opportunity to thank veterans as well as celebrate the bravery and sacrifice of all the veterans that have served our country.

John Weber, dean of students at Westville, welcomed all that attended the tribute.

“Let’s celebrate our veterans on a daily basis,” Weber said.

PNW’s Veterans Day commemoration was filled with heroes that protected our country. Some of the heroes included were Chuck Greenwalt, who served for 15 years in the U.S. Army Special Forces and Patrick Conory, who served in the National Guard and Air Force.

The 2016 Veterans Scholarship recipients were first place winner Michael Ratigan, junior majoring in accounting and the second place winner Andrew Hasty, who is an English literature major.

Ratigan enlisted in January of 2003. In his essay, Ratigan spoke about what Veterans Day means to him.

“I joined because of a couple of reasons,” Ratigan said. “The main one was the attack on the twin towers. I felt that the patriot thing to do was to join.”

Ratigan said when he was at sea for seven months, it was a bittersweet homecoming for him. He said that coming back after being away at sea for that long of a period was a surreal experience.

Ratigan’s advice for those wishing to pursue a life serving our country is to talk to someone who has had experience in the field because they are more likely to answer honestly about what it’s like to provide services for our country.

Faculty member and Tech Sgt. Tony Sindone provided our country six years of active duty in the Air Force, one year of active reserve in the Army and four years of active air reserve. He now resides as a clinical assistant professor of finance and economic development at PNW’s Westville campus.

Sindone resided in New Jersey when he decided to volunteer and become an avionics technician and work on aircraft electronics. Sindone said that the most memorable experience for him was when an aircraft had been diverted to pick him up with equipment so he could fly up to Greenland to repair an aircraft that was grounded.

“It was a whirlwind,” Sindone said. “It was just myself and 14 other boxes, because no one knew what was wrong with the radar until I got there to fix it.”

The National Anthem was sung by Nanda Danitschek, PNC alumna in psychology, at Westville. Danitschek has sung the National Anthem at Westville on Veterans Day for several years. The Presentation of Colors was performed by the United States Marine Corps Junior ROTC from Michigan City High School.

PNW’s ROTC performed the Presentation of Colors at the Hammond campus and retired Col. Dave Hinshaw gave an address following it. Afterward, an award ceremony was held to present PNW’s ROTC cadet Ayden Henderson-Vigil with the Military Order of the Purple Heart Leadership Award.

PNW provides services to veterans through the Veteran Services Office, which offers support, counseling, tutoring, additional services and advising in any personal or academic issues.