2025 marks several anniversaries. The 250th year of the United States of America as a country, the 106th year since the first Armistice Day was observed in the U.S. in 1919, and the 5th year for the Veteran's Plaza on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University.
It was a blustery day on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University for the Gathering of Remembrance ceremony at Veteran's Plaza behind Academic Hall.
A crowd of bundled-up attendees, including veterans, their families, and SEMO faculty and staff, gathered for the dedication of new bricks added to the plaza to commemorate family members and friends who have served in the armed forces, and remember their lives and contributions.
The ceremony opened with an introduction from Wendell Snodgrass, Vice President of University Advancement at Southeast Missouri State, as he thanked the crowd for attending and the sacrifices of veterans and their families from around the region and the world. Haley Hudson, a SEMO Musical Theatre student, sang the national anthem.
Before introducing the guest speaker, Snodgrass also recognized the efforts of the late Tom M. Meyer for establishing the Veterans' Plaza and helping to establish the Veterans Plaza Memorial Scholarship. His wife, Mary, and family were in attendance.
Ed Gargas was the guest speaker. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in finance from Southeast Missouri State University, a Master of Business Administration from William Woods University, and a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. Gargas is a retired Colonel in the Missouri National Guard. He is a combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and has received four Army Commendation Medals, as well as numerous other awards for his performance and service.
Gargas addressed the crowd and acknowledged the many sacrifices veterans and their families have made throughout their lives, including the life and sacrifice of William Shemin, a World War I veteran, who, after decades had passed, finally received a Medal of Honor posthumously. He also acknowledged the civilian service of more recent veterans, such as those who subdued a shooter who opened fire at Fort Stewart, Georgia, and 26-year-old New Jersey native Coast Guard rescue swimmer Scott Ruskin and his crew, who led the search in triage operations at Camp Mystic earlier in 2025 on July 4th— credited with rescuing 169 victims in distress.
He also honored the memory of Tom M. Meyer, a veteran himself, who, while serving on the Board of Regents in 2017, proposed the creation of a space on campus to honor all veterans, past, present, and future. The idea became a reality in 2020 thanks to the help of Meyer, who, Gargas says, imagined the Veteran's Memorial Plaza on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University for 50 years after he and others returned from the Vietnam War, and began integrating into civilian life and reintegrating into college life.
The ceremony concluded with a moment of silence, then taps, which were played by Jerry Ford.
