Ohio University's Army ROTC program will join the Ohio Army National Guard and the United States Army Recruiting Command to recognize and honor heroes at tomorrow's football game.
Hero's Day, which recognizes the military, police officers, fire fighters and emergency medical technicians, has been in the works since this summer and took a lot of coordination and synergy, said Capt. M. Gabriel Carr, OU Army ROTC assistant recruiting operations officer.
Pregame festivities at Rocky Bobcat Student Park will include more than 500 hamburgers and hotdogs, free Army hats and T-shirts and games such as pedal race cars, Sumo-suit wrestling in a 35-foot spider tent, a race car simulator, two Xbox systems inside Humvees and basketball and football tosses. Weather-permitting, tailgaters will also get to see an Apache attack helicopter firsthand and a Humvee Avenger.
Each of us brings something to the table that's great
Carr said, adding that all three organizations contributed to planning and organizing the event.
The event also serves as a recruiting tool for the different Army programs.
It gives great exposure to us Carr said, but what we also like to do is be a positive thing on campus. We're very lucky here at (OU) for an Army or military group
in general that we're so well received. It is in its own way a 'let's give back' kind of thing.
The pregame is just one aspect of Hero's Day.
The Fast Trax military skydive team will parachute the game ball down to the field at the start of the game. Next, two Athens police officers will join Army ROTC cadets and Army personnel in holding a U.S. flag that stretches from each 40-yard line.
Retired Brig. Gen. James Abraham, an 1942 OU alumnus and 2002 OU Army ROTC Hall-of-Famer, will participate in the coin-toss, assisted by Lt. Col. William Hauschild, OU professor of military science and Army ROTC commander, and senior cadet Shane Leary, Army ROTC's company deputy commander.
Abraham, who served as a paratrooper in the World War II D-Day Invasion in Normandy, started the Simultaneous Membership Program, which allows college students to enroll in ROTC and serve in the National Guard or Reserves at the same time.
At halftime about 70 candidates will be sworn into the various military branches.
Prospective high school ROTC candidates and the Ohio National Guard company from McConnellsville and Chillicothe will travel to Athens for the event.
Everyone we bring down really enjoys it
Sgt. Joshua Hicks, Ohio Army National Guard recruiting and retention officer, said. They like hanging out
being there and meeting everybody.
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Leslie Heck
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