On Thursday May, 21, a crowd of people gathered at the MU by the flagpole. Nearly 135 flags were stuck into the grassy corner of the quad, signifying UC Davis students and alumni who fought for the country and died, going as far back as World War II. These students are known as the Gold Star Aggies.
This event was open to the public, and dozens attended the ceremony at the MU at 5:00. Mariah Watson, an ASUCD Senator, led the ceremony, with an Army ROTC cadet performing the Pledge of Allegiance as a few Army members held the national flag, the UC flag, and an Army flag. Two Navy ROTC men from UC Berkeley stood as honor guards during the display of the Golden Memory book, which stores the names of fallen Aggies.
Memorial Day was first created three years after the Civil War, but became an official federal holiday in 1971. Meanwhile, the Memorial Union opened and was dedicated to the Gold Star Aggies in 1955, so this ceremony was also an anniversary of the MU.
Reception followed afterwards in the western section of the Coho, with cookies, coffee, and tea. Along one of the walls were tables with information on topics like joining ROTC, the military branches, and veterans coming back to school. People got to mingle with the servicemen and servicewomen and ask them about ROTC or their respective military branch.
(From left to right: Eliot Wong, William Kieslow, Christine Kalogeras, Liam Burke, and Laurence McDermott)