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, November 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, November 10. The vigil ends at the conclusion of the Veterans Day ceremony 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.
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, contact Eric Chastain at 8065 or chastain@up.edu.