Veterans Commemoration Month 2025: Events

Nov. 1-30th          

Veterans Day Learning Commons Display

• The Learning Commons is proud to support activities in connection with the campus Veterans Commemoration Month. Follow the link and find information on our book and film resources about United States veterans and the military.

Padrón Campus Learning Commons
Room 6011
During Hours of Operation

Poster Series- Honoring All Who Served.

Presented by Gilberto Gonzalez, Alfonso Ribero, Prof. Rosalie Kolesar, Gabriela Gutierrez, and Jorge Garcia

• Commemorate the 20^th Anniversary of the ceremony at our campus 2006-2025
• Posters will be displayed in the Flag Courtyard and in the Library
• Veterans Commemoration Month November 2025 Virtual Gallery: https://tinyurl.com/Padron-Veterans2024

         Flag Courtyard

Padrón Campus Learning Commons
Room 6011
During Hours of Operation

Virtual 

Nov. 1-30th

Missing Man Table

• Also known as the Fallen Comrade Table, is a place of honor, set up in military dining facilities of the U.S. armed forces and during occasions such as service branch birthday balls, in memory of fallen, missing, or imprisoned military service members.

           Student Life
          During campus hours of operation

Nov. 1-30th

Purple Heart Display

• Student Life dedicates an information booth to those who have served. Purple Heart is dedicated to honoring service members who have made the ultimate sacrifice of giving their lives on the front lines. It also honors military personnel who have suffered a life-altering injury due to combat.

           Student Life 
          During campus hours of operation

Nov. 1-30th

Write a Letter to a Service Man/Woman. Led by Prof. Kolesar

• This is an ongoing effort and includes various writing classes. Letters will be distributed to a local Military Unit for delivery
• Here’s a site that can be sent to the students to where they can write letters to soldiers. They are based in Florida. · https://www.forgottensoldiers.org/write-a-soldier/
• In addition to the letters, Prof. Kolesar is working with Lt Col. Gammon from the Miami Military Museum to have students write letters to the Veterans who will be on the Honor Flights leaving from South Florida - https://www.honorflightsouthflorida.org/

Nov.1-30th

“100 Faces of War”

• 100 Faces of War (http://100facesofwarexperience.org/), a traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian, features 100 oil portraits of Americans who went to war in Iraq and Afghanistan, by artist Matt Mitchell (Virtually). YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/8db2TMHbR-I
• To understand something as complex as the American experience of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is useful to listen to many perspectives.
• The 100 Faces exhibition shows a cross-section of Americans who went to these wars between 2001 and 2014. Each person met the artist and was asked to say something about themselves. They could say whatever they wanted. The statement they provided, and their bio represent that moment in their personal history.
• Who are the one percent of Americans that volunteer to defend the 99 percent? 100 Faces of War presents a new way to understand the stories of the soldiers and citizens who served our country during the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Through these portraits and their own words, we come to know their strengths and frailties, their courage and fears, their warmth and humanity. Their words were not edited, and some opinions and language may be considered strong. Each statement represents the feelings and emotions of the sitter alone. Some sat for portraits just days after returning home, and their words reflect their recent experience of conflict. This exhibition is a place of contemplation—unlike a history written by a single author, here you will find one hundred different and highly personal ways of looking at duty, sacrifice, and the human experience of war.

Online

The Imitation Game (Movie)

• In 1939, newly created British intelligence agency MI6 recruits Cambridge mathematics alumnus Alan Turing to crack Nazi codes, including Enigma -- which cryptanalysts had thought unbreakable. Turing’s team, including Joan Clarke, analyze Enigma messages while he builds a machine to decipher them. Turing and team finally succeed and become heroes.

Room: 1209 (in Class Screening)
7:00 AM - 8:00 AM
 

Glory (Movie)

Presented by Prof. Aragon

• Following the Battle of Antietam, Col. Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick) is offered command of the United States’ first all-African American regiment, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.

6 – 8 p.m. (Virtual)

Glory Movie link

Military “Fit” Games and the Murph Challenge

Organized by Dr. Tibaquirá, U.S. Army & Marines

Campus will host a series of events, including push-ups, pull-ups, and other physical activities to challenge students, faculty, and staff.

• Murph challenge https://themurphchallenge.com/pages/the-workout

• 1 Mile Run, 100 Pullups, 200 Pushups, 300 Squats, 1 Mile Run

• “Greater Love Hath No Man Than To Lay Down His Life For His Brothers”

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_P._Murphy

Purpose: The Murph Challenge is much more than a grueling workout — it’s a tribute to Navy Lt. Michael P. Murphy, a Medal of Honor recipient who gave his life in Afghanistan in 2005.

1. To Honor Lt. Michael P. Murphy’s Ultimate Sacrifice Lt. Murphy courageously exposed himself to enemy fire to call for help for his SEAL team during Operation Red Wings. Completing the Murph — the workout he created and did regularly — is a way to honor his bravery, leadership, and selflessness.
2. To Embrace the Spirit of Discipline and Grit Murphy’s workout embodies mental toughness, resilience, and discipline, the very traits that defined him as a warrior and leader. Finishing it symbolizes personal strength in the face of adversity.

Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy

NAVY SEAL Lt. Michael P. Murphy, from Patchogue, N.Y. Murphy was killed by enemy forces during a reconnaissance mission, Operation Red Wing, June 28, 2005, while leading a four-man team tasked with finding a key Taliban leader in the mountainous terrain near Asadabad, Afghanistan. The team came under fire from a much larger enemy force with superior tactical position. Murphy knowingly left his position of cover to get a clear signal in order to communicate with his headquarters and was mortally wounded while exposing himself to enemy fire. While being shot and shot at, Murphy provided his units location and requested immediate support for his element. He returned to his cover position to continue the fight until finally succumbing to his wounds.

Noon-2pm

Student Life Breezeway

Combat-Related Grief and Trauma

Presented by Dr. Manny Garcia

This presentation will look at the psychological effects and behavioral changes that military combat may have on personality.

8-9pm (Virtual)

Link to Presentation