Colonel Doug Edwards, an Air Force ROTC and 1967 University of Portland alumnus, will be the featured speaker at the annual Veterans Day ceremony at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 11 at the Praying Hands Memorial. The ceremony, sponsored by the University’s Air Force and Army ROTC programs, will recognize campus members who have served during times of war, including World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, and Gulf War veterans.
The Veterans Day ceremony will take place after a 24-hour candlelight vigil with Air Force and Army cadets standing guard beginning at 11 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 10. The vigil ends at the end of the ceremony, close to noon on Tuesday.
Colonel Edwards graduated from Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) of Arizona in 1969. He then accumulated over 1,000 hours of combat flying over Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. He served tours of duty in Arizona and England, where he earned master’s degrees in Aviation Management and Aeronautical Science.
Upon returning to the U.S. in 1984, Col. Edwards became the Commander of the 355th Tactical Fighter Squadron in South Carolina. He then completed Air War College in 1987 and became the Tactical Air Command fighter pilot member of the Air Force Inspector General team, responsible for nuclear weapon system safety for all NATO member countries. He also served as the TAC Liaison to the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center, where he evaluated the new F-15E Strike Eagle in combat operations over Iraq during Desert Storm.
In 1991, after 24 years of service, he and his wife Gwen, a graduate of the University Of Portland School of Nursing, retired in Vancouver, Wash. He then was an airline pilot for 14 years and spent six years as the director of fundraising and chief pilot for a non-profit aviation education foundation. He currently serves on the University of Portland Alumni Board.
The Praying Hands Memorial was built by the University’s Class of 1948, in honor of the 69 University of Portland students killed during World War II. The addition of each brick wall surrounding the memorial represents four different battles: World War I, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War, and the Persian Gulf War.
For more information about the vigil and ceremony, contact Eric Chastain at 8065 or chastain@up.edu.
Also on Tuesday, Nov. 11, at 2 p.m., the University will have calls for world peace in the International Peace Garden located outside of Buckley Center Auditorium. A few short readings will be given by international students, along with personal messages and prayers in their own languages and religions that call for world peace. This is an annual event held on Veterans Day on the UP campus. Those interested in offering a call for world peace should visit the International Student Services office on campus, email iss@up.edu or 7367 by November 7.
