With celebratory chimes and solemn trumpets, reflections from a combat veteran and remembrances of fallen Cornellians, the university will honor its military and veteran community with a week of events surrounding Veterans Day.

“We wanted to make it extra special this year as we mark the nation’s 250th anniversary,” said Jessica Hsu, an Air Force veteran and vice chair of the Veterans Colleague Networking Group (VCNG), the lead organizer of the events. “We’re honoring all the veterans who are studying and working here at Cornell, alumni and retirees who have served, and our ROTC cadets and midshipmen.”

The events kick off with the Cornell Veterans Celebration Monday, Nov. 9, 4:30-6 p.m., in Statler Auditorium 185. Open to all, the program features guest speaker U.S. Army Col. (Ret.) Isaiah “Ike” Wilson III, M.P.A. ’98, M.A. ’01, Ph.D. ’04, a visiting lecturer in the Cornell Brooks School of Public Policy. A West Point graduate and founder of the military academy’s Grand Strategy program, Wilson served 33 years active duty, including as Chief of Plans for the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Multi-National Division-North in Iraq. He later served as president of Joint Special Operations University and a senior civilian executive in the U.S. Department of Defense.

Wilson said his remarks, titled “The Armistice Is Not the Peace: Remembering Service, Reckoning with Sacrifice, Remembering Forward,” will explore a consequential distinction – that ending a war is not the same as securing a lasting peace.

The celebration also includes performances by the Cornell University Chorale; “Echo Taps” played by Navy ROTC midshipmen; a veteran appreciation slideshow; bestowal of the Continuation of Service Award; and the unveiling of a plaque donated to ROTC by the local chapter of Vietnam Veterans of America.

Additional Veterans Week events include:

Tuesday, Nov. 10: Cornell veterans, reservists, active-duty servicemembers and ROTC students are invited to a military appreciation luncheon in the Memorial Room of Willard Straight Hall, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 11 (Veterans Day): The Cornell Chimes will perform the Armed Forces Medley, featuring each service’s official song, at 1:10 p.m. and 6 p.m. That evening, McGraw Tower clock faces will be illuminated in green, the color linked to veteran advocacy campaigns known as Greenlight-a-Vet and Operation Green Light.

Thursday, Nov. 12: Marine veteran and VCNG member Jeramy Kruser will lead a walking tour highlighting Cornell’s veteran memorials and military history, dating to its founding as a land-grant university that required military training for male students. Starting at 11 a.m. in Barton Hall (across from Statler Hall), the first stop includes the Wortham Military Museum, the only tour location inaccessible to wheelchairs. At noon, the tour moves to the War Memorial at Lyon and McFaddin Halls, including a visit to a memorial shrine not typically open to the public to view a manuscript that records the names of 264 Cornellians killed in World War I.

“None of these people started out as military or veterans – they started out as Cornellians, and that connection to civilians on campus is important,” Kruser said. “Our community rose up to challenging times.”

The tour concludes from 12:45-1 p.m. in Anabel Taylor Hall’s memorial rotunda, which houses memorials from World War II forward. Participants can join the tour at any location.

Friday, Nov. 13: The university is a participant in Tompkins County’s Veterans Expo, 2-7 p.m.. at The Shops at Ithaca Mall, located at 40 Catherwood Road, Ithaca.

Hanh Dinh, a Marine Corps veteran who is the undergraduate student veteran program director, said all the programming aims to help veterans connect with each other as well as raise awareness about service and veterans issues among the broader community. She said the holiday’s meaning may differ depending on the individual.

“For veterans this week, some may want to celebrate with their community, while for others it may be a more solemn time of reflection about their service and people they miss,” she said. “We want to highlight their service this week, but also to continue making our campus more friendly to veterans and other nontraditional students year-round.”