On Monday, November 11, 2019 from 12:01 a.m. until midnight on Tuesday, November 12, UMD’s Air Force ROTC (AFROTC) is posting watch in observance of Veteran’s Day.
Two at a time, the cadets will be stationed at the flagpole outside the front entrance of the Darland Administration Building, 1049 University Drive. Their shifts are thirty minutes long in temperatures that are forecasted to hover in the high teens.
UMD junior and AFROTC member Rachael Solarz is participating in the 24-hour watch for the third time this year. She was quite moved by the experience in 2018. “It was really grounding. I did a shift at 3 a.m. and remember standing there so still and quietly reflecting on why we’re doing this.”
Solarz hopes that the vigil reminds people of the significance of Veterans Day. “It’s important to have a day when we recognize ordinary people who are making sacrifices so others don’t have to.”
The 24-hour watch tradition began in 1992, when UMD’s AFROTC cadets joined local veterans at the Veterans’ Memorial on the Lakewalk.
The AFROTC program was established in 1949 to train students to become Air Force officers. An aerospace studies minor is available through UMD’s Swenson College of Science and Engineering.
Veterans Day is always on November 11.