Veterans' Memorial Ceremony to Honor Cal Poly Students,
Alumni Who Died for Their Country

SAN LUIS OBISPO -- Cal Poly will unveil and dedicate a campus memorial
Nov. 11 honoring students who gave their lives in military service
during World War II and post-World War II conflicts.

Those fallen students will be honored in a special Veterans' Day
ceremony featuring patriotic music, military ceremonial teams and a
keynote address from the superintendent of the Naval Postgraduate School
in Monterey.

The Cal Poly Veterans' Memorial Unveiling and Dedication begins at 10:30
a.m. at the University Union Mustang Statue, at the intersection of
Grand Avenue and Perimeter Drive. The event is open to the public.

The highlight of the ceremony will be the unveiling and dedication of
three plaques listing the names of Cal Poly students who gave their
lives in military service during World War II and later conflicts.

The event marks the restoration of the original plaque donated to the
university by the class of 1946, listing students who made "the supreme
sacrifice" during World War II. It hung for a time in the
Administration Building.

In the spring of 2000, the Cal Poly Veterans' Memorial Committee began a
fund-raising campaign to restore the original plaque and subsequent
plaques to create a permanent memorial honoring fallen Cal Poly students
and alumni.

After the unveiling and dedication of the plaques at the Veterans' Day
ceremony, Rear Adm. David R. Ellison, superintendent of the Naval
Postgraduate School, Monterey, will deliver the keynote address.

Ellison served as a combat systems officer on the USS Virginia
during the Iranian hostage crisis in the 1980s, and was commanding
officer of the USS Kidd, deployed during the Desert Shield/Desert Storm
military action in Kuwait and Iraq in the 1990s. He also served
as the commander of the USS Yorktown and in 1999 was named commander of
the Navy's Western Hemisphere Group. He was named superintendent of the
Naval Postgraduate School in September 2000.

The Cal Poly Veterans' Memorial Unveiling and Dedication will also
feature patriotic music by the Cal Poly Marching Band, a flag raising by
the Cal Poly ROTC Color Guard, the Marine Corps League Ceremonial Team,
and remarks from Robert E. Lee, Commander of American Legion Post 66,
Mt. Carmel Lutheran Church Assistant Pastor Dan Witmer, Lt. Col. U.S.
Army (Ret.), and Cal Poly Interim Vice President for Student Affairs
Robert C. Detweiler, Col. USMCR (Ret).

After the ceremony, the surviving family members of Cal Poly students
memorialized on the plaques, along with Central Coast veterans and their
families, ROTC students, and honored guests, are invited to a reception
in the Performing Arts Center's Christopher Cohan Center. The reception
begins at noon, and transportation will be available from the University
Union Mustang Statue to the Christopher Cohan Center for those who need
it.

For details on the Cal Poly Veterans' Memorial Dedication, pick up a
brochure at local veterans' agencies or organizations or the Smith
Alumni and Conference Center at Cal Poly, or call the Cal Poly Alumni
Association at 756-2586.

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Veterans' Memorial Ceremony to Honor Cal Poly Students, Alumni Who Died for Their Country

Veterans' Memorial Ceremony to Honor Cal Poly Students,
Alumni Who Died for Their Country