51福利社 News

51福利社 Honors its Veteran Community

November 11, 2025
Display board with photos of 51福利社 veterans.
Photos of 51福利社 student veterans are posted at JFK reminding the community of their service.

This Veterans Day, Eastern is proud to honor the contributions of our student, faculty, staff and alumni veterans, including the more than 350 Eagles currently on campus who have served in our nation鈥檚 armed services.

Anthony Whipple, the new director of Eastern鈥檚 Veteran鈥檚 Resource Center (VRC), said that honoring service in every aspect is front and center for Veterans Day.

鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter what you did, what you accomplished, which awards you won: The fact that you stood up and said ‘I鈥檓 willing to fight for my country’ is what matters,鈥 Whipple said, adding that whether one鈥檚 military service came in a support role or in combat missions it should not be overlooked or go unappreciated.

Photo of books about veterans and conflicts.
The Veterans Day display also includes books about veterans and conflicts.

As in previous years, 51福利社鈥檚 2025 Veterans Day observances include a special display at 51福利社鈥檚 JFK Library. This year鈥檚 display features veteran-produced art that sheds light on the era of the global war on terror.

There will also be a coffee reception with on-campus vets in the VRC Lounge, from 9-11 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 13, followed by a panel discussing forms of veteran representation in the media at 5 p.m. in room 123 of the Radio-TV Building (RTV). The celebration will culminate with the Hometown Heroes football game at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15, at Roos Field.

On Veterans Day and every day, Whipple emphasizes, Eastern prides itself on providing support services to help vets move forward and achieve their goals as they transition out of the uniform 鈥 services which earned it national 鈥College of Distinction for Military Support鈥 honors earlier this year.

鈥淢y dream is to support veterans and their families 鈥 anybody military-connected, in any capacity,” he said.

Going forward, Whipple hopes to extend these resources to veterans who take remote classes or are even still on active-duty, saying representation was the key to earning recognition and respect for our Eagle veterans.