Annual KU Vets Day 5K, parade to commemorate centennial of World War I armistice


Fri, 11/02/2018

author

Jennifer Jackson Sanner

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Student Veterans of America and the Veterans Alumni Network will host the Vets Day 5K at 9 a.m. Nov. 11 at the David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. The annual event honors our nation’s veterans and highlights the roles service members and veterans play at KU and in our communities.

This year’s run, which weaves through campus and passes the university’s five war memorials, commemorates the centennial of the Great War armistice, Nov. 11, 1918, which ended fighting between the Allies and Germany. Proceeds from the run support KU Veterans of America, the Veterans Alumni Network and the Lt. Gen. William K. Jones Military-Affiliated Student Center. For more information and to register, visit kuvetsday5k.com.

Veterans and community members are also invited to attend the Lawrence Veterans Day Parade, which begins at 11 a.m. on Massachusetts Street in downtown Lawrence. An opening ceremony, which includes an interfaith devotional by the Rev. Verdell Taylor, a military flyover and an Echo Taps sounding, will commence at 10:30 a.m. at Seventh and Massachusetts streets. KU’s World War II Memorial Carillon will ring in conjunction with the community bell to mark the centennial celebration.

The parade will feature military vehicles, the Blue Knights, the American Legion and Patriot Guard Riders, as well as veterans representing all branches of service and a Gold Star float to honor service members killed in action. Special guests include veteran Eric Walther; Margaret Mahoney, World War II British Ally of the Royal Air Force Bomber Command; and Richard Schiefelbusch, a World War II veteran and distinguished professor emeritus of KU’s Department of Speech-Language-Hearing, who will serve as grand marshal. Schiefelbusch served in the U.S. Army Air Forces as a B-24 Liberator navigator and was held as a POW from May 14, 1943, to April 29, 1945. The Schiefelbusch Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic and the Schiefelbusch Life Span Institute at KU are named in his honor.

All veterans are encouraged to participate in the parade at no charge. For more information and to download an entry form, visit LawrenceVeteransDay.org or call 785-393-9099.

Fri, 11/02/2018

author

Jennifer Jackson Sanner

Media Contacts

Jennifer Sanner

KU Alumni Association

785-864-9782