Schools
Veterans Honored at AACC Ceremony Friday
The AACC family has more than 100 veterans associated with its faculty, friends and students.
Service veterans from across the county were honored Friday with a special ceremony held at Anne Arundel Community College.
A list of 129 names of service men and women was read by faculty members. The list included friends, family, faculty and students of Anne Arundel Community College who have served their country in times of war.
“We as the community’s college, have benefited from the service of our veterans and military in more ways than one,” said Vice President Melissa Beardmore. “Many members of our AACC team or their families have served or still are serving in the military.”
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The college has a military and veterans resource center, established to help military and veteran students connect.
Vietnam veterans Harry Simpson and Ray Turner both teach at AACC, and spent a moment after Friday’s ceremony to catch up.
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Simpson, a former Annapolis Police Department captain, now teaches a survey class on Weapons of Mass Destruction at AACC. He said the ceremony today showed that America had grown to embrace veterans more than in the past.
He recalled the moment he stepped off a train, having just arrived back home from his tour in Vietnam, only to be spit on by a stranger.
“Those were different times, back then. They’ve changed now,” he said. “I’m glad to see our veterans being accepted more appropriately now. Because unless you’ve experienced war, you can’t understand it.”
Simpson said hearing Taps at the end of the ceremony still makes his heart feel heavy. Hearing the song is a reminder of those who have fallen in war.
“Listening to Taps just destroys me, every time,” he said.
Greg Anderson, a visitor at the ceremony, also served in Vietnam in the Navy Reserve in Da Nang. He said ceremonies like Friday’s help keep veterans in the public mind.
“I think this is a very good way of letting people know about their community’s veterans, and the importance of their service,” Anderson said. “Any time that word can get out to the public about veterans, I can only see that as a positive.”