Two Intimate Memorial Day Ceremonies at St. Philip's College Campuses May 28

ST. PHILIP'S COLLEGE'S SOLEMN CEREMONIES: SILENCE, WREATHS, BRASS, SILENCE FOR ALL FALLEN STUDENT GIS IN TWO INTIMATE MEMORIAL DAY CEREMONIES AT ST. PHILIP'S COLLEGE CAMPUSES MAY 28

St. Philip’s College, with campuses at 1801 Martin Luther King Drive and 800 Quintana Road, observes Memorial Day 2018 with two intimate ceremonies featuring strong brass, wreaths with red and white flowers, and heavy silence for the fallen---particularly the fallen student GI population---and all are invited to attend.

The 120-year-old college begins the day by ceremonially observing the seventh anniversary season of its memorial to community college education for veterans with a Memorial Day ceremony on May 28 at 9 a.m. on the Campus Green Space located between the college’s Welcome Center and G. J. Sutton Learning Center buildings at 1801 Martin Luther King Drive in the city’s Denver Heights neighborhood that 525 honor society students originally dedicated to fallen veterans who were completing their community college educations in November of 2011. The ceremonial day concludes with an indoor ceremony May 28 at noon in Building 1 of the college’s Southwest Campus at 800 Quintana Road in the city’s Port San Antonio neighborhood.

Each ceremony traditionally includes a laying of a memorial wreath, a roll call, and a moment of silence followed by a rendition of Taps. Both May 28 events are the third of their type, made possible because St. Philip’s College is no longer closed on Memorial Day, and a mix of students and employees chose to start a civic tradition where the public is invited to observe the holiday by attending the college events. Both May 28 events are also the second of their type with solo brass music provided by college adjunct professor of music, voice and trumpet Kim Denmark. While the monument provides the public a place for reflection on the observance and Denmark performs traditional patriotic music for the solemn occasion, other armed forces-related service providers at the college are in operation, and guests are welcome to visit the college’s library for study related to the national observance as well.

One original primary mission of community colleges in America was to serve the workforce education needs of servicemembers transitioning back to civilian life in the final months of World War II, such as the Tuskegee Airmen. Today, community colleges educate half of America’s college students. The seven-year-old marker is a tribute conceived by honor students at St. Philip's College to the legacy of the 120-year-old college as a trusted provider of education to servicemembers of the past, present and future. The grey granite marker measures nearly five feet tall and three feet wide, consisting of a four-piece base of concrete and granite, inscribed words and a small Pentagon stone on top, according to Mark A. Garza, owner of the monument division of 116-year-old South Texas Cemetery Services. The students who conceived and funded the marker are members of the college’s chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, the honor society of two-year colleges. The public is invited at its convenience to view the marker on the Campus Green Space located between the college’s Welcome Center and G. J. Sutton Learning Center buildings at 1801 Martin Luther King Drive in the city’s Denver Heights neighborhood. Parking is always complimentary.

For full details on the event, contact co-organizer Javier Barron, the college’s off site coordinator at Joint Base San Antonio Lackland, (210) 486-7221, jbarrron38@alamo.edu, or co-organizer Veronica Griego, the college’s veterans affairs senior coordinator, (210) 486-2540, vgriego3@alamo.edu, SPC-VetAffairs@alamo.edu.