Return to Main Menu

Recognizing workplace veterans Each day, MUSC employees are valued for their efforts and contributions in the education of health care professionals and providing patient care. Many MUSC employees also share an important dual role as citizen-soldiers working with National Guard, active duty or reserve troops. In a year marked by tragedy and turmoil, these dedicated men and women have responded to natural disasters, security of our homeland and preserving liberty. MUSC President Dr. Ray Greenberg accepts a flag on behalf of MUSC from U.S. Air Force Reserve Master Sgt. Rick Bennett during the campus’ Military Recognition Day Ceremony held Nov. 10. Bennett is a nurse working in Ambulatory Care Services. The presented flag had been flown over Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan. Since April 2003, Bennett has been called to serve his country in multiple deployments. An aeromedical evac technician, Bennett is currently on active duty assignment to the 315th Aeromed Evacuation Squadron. The flag was flown over MUSC's campus on Veteran's Day, Nov. 11.   In honor of all veterans, MUSC sponsored its third Military Recognition Day program on Nov. 10 for MUSC employees.  MUHA Employees  Beau Adams, Kandace D. Adams, Spencer O. Addison, Herbert Albrechtsen,Thomas Daniel Altman, Sharon E. Ancrum, Marlo S. Anderson, Michael George Andrews, James R. Atkins, Rosebelinda  V. Augustus,  Kenneth J. Bachewicz, Ronald E. Baker, David Simon Ball, John Ballard Jr., Charles C. Banks, Charles Prescott Barnes Jr., Keith W. Barnes, Norris E. Barrineau, Alfred H. Barton Jr., Johnathan O. Bass, Frederick L. Bennett Jr., Elizabeth Ann Betz, Robert D. Blackburn, Danny Elroy Blake, Billy Bloodsworth, John R. Boolen, Peter P. Botzis, Donna Kay Bouissey, Timothy Ernest Bowling, Eugene Ralston Boyd Jr., John W. Boyd Jr., Hurley D. Braddy, Robert E. Bradley, Theodore Ronald Bradley, George C. Branham, Michael R. Briggs, Mary Margaret Brigman, Kenneth L. Brinkman, Alicia Tricia Brown, Eric S. Brown, Janet F. Brown, Kenneth A. Brown, Ronald J. Brunner, Stacey Constance Bryant, John H. Campbell, Kimberly Ann Carroll, Cynthia Elaine Carter-Frasier, Edward A. Cawthorn, Tamara S. Cawthorn, Bruce Arthur Chambers, David M. Chapman, Stephanie F. Chomos, Cary I. Christ, Ronald H. Clark Jr., Debra A. Clontz, Jason Eugene Collins, Julie D. Collins, Quetta D. Conyers, Alfred R. Cox, Michael E. Craine, Rosemary K. Crawford, Kelley S. Cronk, Crystal Dawn Crosby, David C. Crout, William J. Crummer, James W. Cummins, Dean M. Dalton, Timothy M. Daniell, Bryan Keith Darling, Marcel A. Darrieux, Leroy E. Davis, Reginald K. Dean Sr., Donald E. Deland, Lisa A. Depozo, John B. Deremer, Berly Omerle Derrick Jr., James D. Dewitt, Mark Charles Dorey, Shannek  Iteria Dover, Frances L. Duffy, Christopher S. Duvall, J. Michael Earl Jr., George E. Erwin, Jill J. Evans, David W. Ferguson, Ann M. Ferrell, Bernard Ferrette, James W. Ferris Jr., Julius P. Fielding II, John King Flynn Jr., Nancy Carol Flynt, John D. Franklin, Dennis James Frazier, William H. Freeman, Rachel F. Furman, Glenn A. Gadsden, Julia Melissa Gallant-Lee, Tracy Yvette Garner, Edgardo Jesus Gascon-Villard, Calvin Michael Gathers, Stephen George Gavin, Christopher J. Gibbs, James L. Gibson, Frederick Eugene Gipe, Juan Gonzalez, Walter Goodwin, Tracey L. Gordon, Eugene N. Gotbaum, William J. Graham, James Larry Grant, Donna E. Green, William  Alexander Greene, Robert P. Gregowicz, Keith Curtis Grigsby, Edward U. Griles, David A. Guarino Sr.,  Larry Allen Guy, Lee Robert Haggerty, Deborah F. Hamilton, Lee Robert Haggerty, Deborah F. Hamilton, Stephanie LaShane Hammond, Larry D. Harding, Kimberly A. Harris, Jessica Renee Harrison, David T. Henderson, Pamela W. Herring, Juanita H. Heyward, Joanna Sarba Heywood, Nathaniel Hilliard, Leonard Michael Hilton, Adrianne McKenzie Holt, Lisa Ann Horn, Jerry A. Houston, Dwight David Howard, William P. Huck, Jesse W. Hudson, Dwayne Humphrey, Timothy Valentine Hushion, David A. Hutto, Edmond G. Inigo, George F. Isgitt Jr., Michael Patrick Jacobbe, Amanda D. Jager, Dan E. Jenkins, Harold C. Jensen, Christopher D. Johnson, James Francis Johnson, Jude Edwin Johnson, Karen Elaine Johnson, Laureen Renitta Johnson, Rodger Johnson, Floyd Patrick Jones, Joyce L. Justice, Clarence E. Kelly, Sylvia Elaine Kelly, Hugh Osgood Kight Jr., David P. Klos, Kelly Ann Knochelmann, Walter T. Krzyzaniak, Paula Jean Lajeunesse, Tammy J. Lamont, Lori Walker Langston, Pamela S. Lanphere, Raymond Bolen Lanphere, Nighia Hong Le, Edward H. Lee, Brian J. Lewis, Linda D. Lewis, Juanita J. Lockwood, Peter Anthony MacEachern, Sharon O. Macon, Joel M. Maddux, James Magee, David Marcum, Johnnie Martines, Kenneth R. Massingale, Mark W. McCaslin, Conniel L. McDaniel, Brenda J. McElveen, Marisa Heitman McEntire, Marshall McFadden, Terry Dewayne McFall, Karen L. McGee, Paul Tomothy McKarns, Delores McKenzie, Ronald E. McKinnie, Albert McMahon, Darin McNeal, Mary M. Metz, Jeffrey Middleton, Theadore A. Middleton, Frederick W. Miles, Douglas D. Miller, Matthew Lynn Mireles, Ashley Tarone Mitchell, Valerie Joy Mitchell, Ronald J. Monfils, Bernard Moore, Rebecca Jane Moore, Thomas F. Moore, Paul Moss, Tonnia A.O. Mullen, Frank L. Murray, Steven Michael Naert, Carmie Josette Nelson, Jerome A. Nelson, Sharicka Lynn Nelson, Larry D. Neupert, Donald D. Neuroth, Nash A. Newsome, Thales Newsome, Shawn Yvette Nimons, Dexter, L. Noble, Thomas J. Noble, Robert Dennis Nolan, John H. Nye III, Donna Jean Oden, John G. Oliver, Leonard Oliver, Shawna Christine Oliver-Wilder, Michael J. Ondrus, Sam A. Ormont, Michael J. Pachuta, Donna M. Padgette, Marjorie Wells Page, Gwendolyn Heyward Parker, Steve Paterniti, Robert W. Pease, Leif D. Pedersen, Charles Henry Pegram Jr., Radames F. Perez, William Jackson Perkins Jr.,  John R. Petit, Ronald W. Petko, Craig C. Phelps, John Henry Phillips, Eric J. Pinckney, Chris J. Pirmann, Brigette L. Pirrung, Charlene Laverne Pondexter, Cassendra Annette Poole, Robert Gregory Poteet, Todd M. Pottorf, Claudia G. Powell, Alitasha Pringle, Robert E. Pulos, William Angus Pursley, Mansle E. Raines Jr., Steven G. Ratliff, Susanne V. Ratzlaff, Glenwood L. Redden, Persephone Murray Redden, Archie L. Reid, William J. Rentz, Beth-Ann Beaver Rhoton, Stacey Jaye Ribble, Dana Rena Rice, Philip O. Riley, Neil K. Ritzel,  Quantella L. Rivers-Bradley, Glenn Robinson, Kevin H. Roerden, Carlos R. Rogers, Cedric Marcel Rogers, E. Eugene Roper, Morris Francis Roper, Charles J. Ross, George M. Rossi, Pamela Jane Ruff, Lee O. Russ, Nancy J. Sampson, Charles Anthony Sander, Jason A. Santanna, Pacifico A. Santiago Jr., Michael Alan Sawin, Norma Peavy Sawyers, Gregory Joseph Schaldenbrand, Michael G. Schlegel, Caroline Patricia Scruggs, Beverly Shine, Jamie M. Sicard, Christie Allison Sierra, Cephus E. Simmons, Christopher Simmons, Terry L. Simmons, Tammy Renee Singletary, Arthur Singleton Jr., Dana M. Singleton, Hope M. Singleton, Marcellus L. Singleton, William Darnell Singleton, Anthony Smith, Grace L. Smith, Henry R. Smith, Jeffery P. Smith. Johnny Mack Brown-Smith, W. Stuart Smith, Kalundia Sagolar Snipe, Michael D. Snyder, Sanford H. Solomon, Margaret M. Spell, William Bennett Spring Jr., Charles E. Stevens, Joseph Matthew Stocking, James Carl Stolle, David L. Strange, Ronald E. Staub, Kathleen M. Struthers, Gary A. Stubblefield, Valerie J. Sutton, Preston A. Tanner, Edwin D. Taylor Jr., Lonnie Taylor Jr., Reginald Leonard Terry, William A. Thomison, Tanya Victoria Thompson, Vernell Threat, David P. Tobin, Robin Suzanne Trainham, Ronald J. Traver, Ronald J. Treiber, Angela Marian Trogdon, Herman T. Tuchman, Ron C. Turner, Karen W. VanMaanen, Gerald M. VanLandingham, Orlando Velez, Lonnie Ned Vendrick, Sharon Lee Vendrick, James Spencer Verner IV, Conrad Ewen Vogt, Gayle Rochelle Wadford, Samantha Wadford, James B. Walker Jr., Denyse Marie Walsh, Dennis B. Ward, Edward Washington, Teresa A. Watt, Eraina Yolanda Weeks-Sumter, Sheldon Morey Weinstein, David Lee Wendorf, Nathaniel I. Whichard, Richard P. Whitcroft II, Dan White, David H. White, Olivia C. Whitehurst, Darlene E. Williams, Melivn S. Williams, Robert L. Williams, Ruthel F. Williams, Bobby J. Wilson, CLyde L. Wilson, Robert L. Winn Jr., Marshall Scott Wise, Boyd Lee Wood, Annabel Woodman, Jim W. Woolsey Jr., William Arthur Wright, Matt A. Youngerman, Susan Lee Zayac, Frances Zinko, Christine M. Zohlen. UMA Employees Thomas P. Anderson, James L. Bowman, Sheryl C. Blackwell, Hal S. Currey, Peter A. Dodge Sr., Barbara A. Eaton, Michael E. Emanuele, Mary S. Frost, Mary S. Granger, Early Griffin III, George M. Grimball Jr., Irvin A. Haynes, Kevin M. Heis, Diane M. Hendricks, Latoya Holmes, Tony L. Jamison, Lance H. Johnson, Michael C. Keels, James T. McClinton, David C. Neff, Marion J. Oldham, Rosalyn S. Peterson-Hale, Cheryl L. Salvo, Lisa J. Siddal, Edwin A. Tufts II.    Elaine Rudd, volunteer recruiter, Office of Volunteer and Information Services, hands out a lapel pin to an employee-veteran. All MUSC veterans received a pin during the ceremony. University Employees  Calvin C. Allen, Herman Roger Allen, Juan R. Anavitate, Durwood E. Bach, Jerome Baker, John M. Barry, Ivory L. Beamon, Barbara A. Bell, Dionne L. Bennett, James F. Benson, Connie Lee Best, Ted C. Blevins, Wallace T. Bonaparte, Rodney P. Bordelon, Michael Bouiseey, John A. Bradley, Frank J. Brescia, Arthur M. Brown, Charles A. Brown, Samuel Brown, Susan A. Brown, Stephanie Yvonne Brown-Guion, Keith A. Browning, Mark C. Bulson, Timothy H. Bussey, Teresa R. Byars, Ronald E. Bycroft, Ralph A. Calhoun, David E. Callahan, Joseph R. Cantey, Burgess Bernard Canty, James F. Carter, Barnwell Rhett Chaplin, Jerimaine Chatman, James E. Chisholm, Donald E. Collins, Edward Conradi, Rodney W. Coons, Norman E. Cooper, Wayne R. Courtney, Gary Wayne Covington, James K. Craig, Fred A. Crawford, Arthur Jackson Crumbley, John R. Cusack, Casandra Daniels, Thomas William Darcy, Charles A. Davis, George Edward Dawson, Victor E. Del Bene, Angienita Deveaux, Samuel C. Deveaux, Leroy Dingle, Anthony Dunbar, Raymond D. Edwards, Bruce M. Elliott, Dallas Ellis, Trevor D. Erickson, Arthur M. Fayne, Charles D. Ferguson, Joseph R. Ferra, Milton J. Foust, Herbert P. Franklin, Louis L. Franz, Melissa Ann Freeland, Geoffrey A. Freeman, Geroge Donald Frey, Gerald A. Garza, Stephen George Gavin, Stephen P. Giallombardo, Joseph C. Good, Joseph L. Gorman, Sidney M. Gourdine, Emuel E. Green, Mark Ronald Green, David A. Griesemer, Richard H. Gross, Jimmy A. Gunter, Rodney L. Hamilton, Douglas A. Haskins, James E. Hensley, Richard Hernandez, Kristin B. Highland, Alexander Hill, Daniel Hoskins, Terry I. Howell, Vandora M. Huggins, Richard C. Hughes, Jerry Huhn, Clint Infinger, David W. Ivey, Valerie J. Jass, Lisa Denise Jefferson-Brooks, William Sims Jenkins, Allen L. Johnson, Gerald P. Johnson, Lisa M. Johnson, Teresa Johnson, Fredrick S. Jones, Mark E. Jones, Melvin Jones, Lasonya R. Jordan, Terry A. Jorgensen, Jerald Thomas Joseph, Anthony Joyner, David P. Klos, James S. Knight, Marilyn B. Knowles, Peter Kobes, Andrew Steven Kraft, Matthew Basil Kuchta,Teresa A. Lancaster, John E. Lawson, John Lazarchick, Calvin D. Lindeman, Paul M.P. Locicero, Karla K. Locklear, Scott L. Lofmark, Ceferino G. Magpantay, Robert J. Malcolm, Stephen W. Malley, Robert Mallin, John C. Malmrose, Dillard C. Marshall, Tommy L. Maw, Augustus J. McConnell, Allen G. McCreary, Clifton L. McDonald, Alexander C. McGillivray, Emmett e. McKinney, George C. McLauchlan, David A. McMakin, Hugh T. McPartlin, Eugene T. McPartlin, Eugene Paul Merkel, Arnold E. Metz, Lawrence D. Middaugh, Donald H. Miller, David M. Mills, Ronald E. Mize, Lawrence C. Mohr, Raymond C. Monroe, Lawrence H. Moser, Bryan A. Moten, Michael C. Murray, Jason R. Nance, Mark J. Narowski, Robert F. Neuner, Ronald O. Nickel, Daniel W. Nixon, Jackie R. Nolen, Edwin J. O'Brien, John M. Oldham, Jeffery D. Osmer, Henry B. Othersen, Harry B. Parks, Jeffrey L. Parrish, Lloyd R. Pate, Robert H. Peiffer, Howard V. Peskin, James Peyton, William C. Phillips, Adren E. Phillips, John E. Pigott, Ross B. Pollack, Jon B. Rampton, Jeff Randall, James G. Ravenel, Michelle C. Ravenel, Samuel A. Ravenel, Jerry K. Redmon, William D. Register, John Routt Reigart, Ursula S. Riley, David E. Rivers, Jacob G. Rivers, Jacob G. Robison, Norman W. Rodgers, Adrian D. Rose, Roger D. Rowell, Timothy S. Roylance, John S. Runyon, Joseph Salley, John J. Sanders, Johnny B. Sandifer, Rodney J. Schlosser, Howard Schomer, Bradley A. Schulte, Michael Seabrook, John Bayneselby, Jennifer F. Shambrook, Gerhard E. Shanks, Gerald J. Shealy, Warren L. Sholl, Christine M. Skope, Sabra C. Slaughter, Charles D. Smith, David L. Smith, Michael T. Smith, Ann Smuniewski, Nancee Sneed, William Dan Sneed, William M. Southgate, Samuel S. Spicer, Emmie Elizabeth Steadman, Robert T. Stickney, Sylvia Jean Strickland, John C. Sutusky, Marvin Michael Swindle, Michael W. Tabor, Archie J. Taylor, Anthony Thomas, Joseph F. Thompson, Tracey S. Thomson, William L. Turner, Paul B. Underwood, Bruce W. Usher, James P. Van Dorsten, Michael L. Vanderhurst, Kenneth N. Vanek, Roy Howard Vaughan, Christopher S. Wagner, Robert C. Waite, John S. Walton, Carlyle E. Wanamaker,    Scot P. Wetzig, Kevin W. White, David A. Whittaker, Donald L. Wilbur, George J. Wilds, Nathan W. Williams, Frederick A. Wilson, Peter W. Wilson, Walter O. Winningham, Robert F. Woolson. Tribute paid to veterans, past and present by Col. Geoff Freeman Executive Director of Educational Technology Services I would like to thank Dr. (Ray) Greenberg and MUSC for hosting this event and taking time to recognize the contributions of the men and women of our United States Armed Forces.   Col. Geoff Freeman It is an honor to be chosen to speak today (Nov. 10) in honor of our soldiers past and present.   We spend tomorrow remembering the soldiers through the centuries who have come together to fight for a common cause. They’ve defended America when our borders, our people and our way of life have been threatened.   All over the nation tomorrow, Americans will gather together to remember and pay tribute to our veterans. It is a chance to thank those who have selflessly answered the call to duty, and to remember those who have served.   I invite veterans who have recently returned from supporting our troops in Iraq or Afghanistan and anyone who has served in the military to stand.   Speaking on behalf of all those wearing the uniform, I am proud to stand in the ranks with you.   Any morning we wake up on free land, it’s because of men and women like these.   We’ve honored our veterans here, but I want to recognize one more group for their contributions— the families of veterans.   Whenever troops have been called to action and deployed in support of a mission, they leave behind their spouses, their children, their parents, and all of their loved ones.   Those family members have waited on pins and needles for the letters, the phone calls and the emails home that tell them their loved one is safe. They may not carry a ruck sack on their back, but they have carried the weight of worrying about their soldier, probably the most cumbersome burden anyone can imagine. They carry that burden until their soldier returns. Tragically, some never do. Whenever a soldier falls in combat, it is the families who suffer most.   Just as our veterans have made sacrifices, the families of soldiers have made sacrifices as well. When we honor veterans, it is only right that we thank those family members and honor them for their sacrifices.   Veteran’s Day is a time to thank and honor every American who has served in the military, especially those who have served during times of war.   According to the U.S. Census, prior to the War on Terrorism, there were 26 million American veterans. Nearly 30 percent of those veterans are disabled. Since Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, a vast number of the 1.4 million people serving in the military today have deployed in support of the war on terrorism.   They follow in the legacy of generations of service members who have fought to uphold the principles America is founded on. For 230 years, the men and women of America’s armed forces have answered the nation’s call to duty.   If you look back through our nation’s history, you’ll find that the tradition of the United States soldier began in the spring of 1775 on Lexington Green. On that day, Capt. Jonas Parker and 75 armed Minutemen stood up in the face of six or seven hundred hardened British Regulars.   As the Professional British Soldiers raised their weapons, Capt. Parker gave an order. ”Don’t fire unless you are fired on, but if they want a war, let it begin here.”   Those first Colonial American soldiers who died in Lexington made the ultimate sacrifice for an idea—the idea that they could form their own nation. They died never knowing that they were not merely the ragged ranks of a Massachusetts militia, but were the first line of fighting in a war that would enable the founding of a nation unlike any in the world.   Since then, generations have worn the uniform and fought both on domestic and foreign soil. Our veterans crouched in the muddy trenches of Europe, confronted the enemy from the rocky crags of the Italian Alps and struggled up the sandy beaches of Normandy.   They froze through the bitter winters in the mountains of South Korea and steamed in the sodden jungles of Vietnam.   They’ve chased terrorists over the 10,000-foot mountains of Eastern Afghanistan and squinted against the dusty wind on the bleak, empty landscapes of Iraq.   But that’s not all our soldiers have done. Even beyond fighting in wars, our troops are engaged in humanitarian missions, and peace keeping missions.   Soldiers protected our citizens when they desegregated schools and registered to vote. Troops have gone to faraway places in countries torn apart by conflict to stand in the middle and maintain peace. Now they’re building roads and bridges, schools and hospitals and providing water and electricity to the people of Iraq.   Our soldiers are helping get food and shelter to the millions of people left homeless by the earthquake in Pakistan.   They’ve even worked right here in America getting food and water to people affected by the hurricanes, rescuing people stranded by floodwaters in New Orleans and helping those whose homes were destroyed pick up the pieces.   The mission and the theatre of operation may change, but throughout the world, Soldiers are still the ones who answer the call to duty when there’s a job to do.   But who are these soldiers who serve today and have served in the past? Who are the individuals who fill those boots?   They are ordinary people who have been placed in extraordinary circumstances. Soldiers and veterans are people who know the true meaning of courage.   And when placed in situations of danger, in which their very lives hang in the balance, they react and do what they have to in order to fulfill their mission. And some of them give everything they have.   One of those soldiers was Sgt. First Class Paul Ray Smith. When he deployed with the Third Infantry Division, he never knew he would give his life to defend others.   His unit was attacked by more than one hundred insurgents while building a prison compound outside Baghdad.   When his unit began taking casualties, Smith climbed into a damaged armored personnel carrier and fired the .50 caliber machine gun at the enemy so his wounded Soldiers could be evacuated. Through his actions, the insurgents were forced back, and 100 soldiers were saved.   But during that fight, a bullet took Sgt. Smith’s life. Earlier this year, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.   There are many stories like his from our current war on terrorism.   Our soldiers manifest the Warrior Ethos through their actions. One of the tenets of the Warrior Ethos is, “I will never leave a fallen comrade.”  Veteran’s day is about saying, “I will never forget a fallen comrade.”   While history records the valor of the American Soldier in terms of units and armies and forces, the role of the American soldier is the story of each individual who accepted the call of duty.   Right within this room, I’m sure every veteran could tell of stories of people in their units who risked or would risk their lives for their fellow soldiers and for the defense of our nation.   Those individual acts may never be awarded with ribbons and medals, but we will continue to remember and honor veterans, so that no soldier will ever feel that their actions were forgotten.   This gathering to honor the American soldier and all veterans is a tribute to their glory and their devotion to duty.   God bless you who came here today to share this tribute. God bless the nation’s veterans all around the world. And, God bless the United States of America— where, because of our soldiers today, and the veteran Soldiers of yesterday—is still ... land of the free . . . home of the brave.   Our veterans and Soldiers are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters who became warriors–and heroes.   Urging soldiers to continue the fight for freedom, the great patriot Thomas Paine, wrote his own moving call to duty:  ”These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” Friday, Nov. 18, 2005 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.