We are the UNO College Democrats, and we humbly and respectfully ask you to pay tribute to those Americans who have, in turn, paid the ultimate price in fighting for our country.
Since the invasion of Iraq, almost 2390 Americans have been lost. Each of them had a name, a life, a family. To pay tribute, their names will be read Tuesday April 25th, starting early in the morning and going until the evening. We won’t stop until every name has been read and every soldier remembered.
In our group we have brothers, sisters, and wives of those serving on the ground in Iraq right now. In our group we have members of the Army, sons and daughters of veterans, and future enlistees. We are fiercely patriotic. We have those who opposed the war, and those who supported it.
But today, all of us, and hopefully all those who see the flags, or hear this message, are united to pay tribute to those who have given their lives for us.
If you pray, please pray for the fallen and their families today.
If not, take a moment to remember and respect those same soldiers, patriots.
We are one nation, all of us in this together, with liberty and justice for all.
Each individual flag represents a man or woman who fought and died for these ideals and beliefs.
For this, we owe them eternal gratitude.
We owe them respect.
We owe it to them to remember their sacrifice,
to Pay Tribute to The Fallen.
This event is a one full of emotion and respect, but not partisanship.
We invite all people, liberal, conservative, democrat, republican, green, libertarian, everyone, to join with us in reflection and observance.
Please visit the flags, and believe me when I say that when you see them, and stand there with them, partisan thoughts will be the last ones in your mind.
Because of this, we would like to keep this post clean of political comments or debates so the focus stays where it should be, on the men and women who gave their lives, and the debt we will always owe to them, the respect we should always give them.
Thank you
-management
I am so grateful that all of you in the Democrats have done this. When I came to school this morning and saw all of the flags, I was overcome with emotion. No matter what political ideology you stand behind, we all need to pay tribute to everyone who has fought for our country to be free and safe. Thanks again. Keep up the good work!
Powerful. Beautiful. Heart-breaking. Truly, these are our brothers and sisters, and I want to thank the UNO Democrats for paying them such a respectful tribute. We are humbled by the sacrifice of these 2390 men and women who gave their lives for this country. My thoughts are with the families and with all those who remain in harm’s way.
Today, I am proud to be a Nebraska Young Democrat. Wish I could be in Omaha to share this remarkable experience.
Thank you for all of the time, effort, imagination, and emotion that you have all put into this event. Coming up with the idea and being able to visualize those flags, and then being able to make it happen, despite the weather, was a true gift to our community. All of us need this opportunity to mourn. I know that some of you who are graduating will be headed to the military, maybe to Iraq or another place of danger. Some of you are paying for school now by service in the National Guard or the Reserves. Each of those flags could be any one of us, any one of our relatives. Some of us think of those flags and remember relatives fallen in previous wars, relatives we never really had the chance to mourn. Through an event like this we pay respect, we lament, and together we also begin to heal. Thank you for this gift.
great job guys, this was an absolutely awe inspiring event. When I was placing flags last night, I couldnt help but think that every time I drove a flag into the ground, it represented one more person who will not be coming home from the Middle East. I hope this event was as somber and personal to all of you as it was for me. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to take place in this, I will never forget it.
Thank you to everyone who worked so hard for this event. Thank you to every veteran who has put their life on the line for our great nation. I know that the meaning of sacrifice will not be lost on my generation.
I am honored to have been a small part of such a great tribute. Thank you so much to everyone who put this together.
Great job guys! As I walked across campus heads were turned toward the flags and conversations were flowing. I think this was an awesome idea and I am glad that you followed through with this great tribute.
I am prouder than ever to be an officer of the UNO College Democrats! Thank you to everyone who helped in the Tribute to the Fallen event. It was such an incredible way to end the semester. Enduring the cold, rain, blisters, and loss of sleep was a small but worthwhile sacrifice so that these fallen soliders could be commemorated. Personally, I hoped that this memorial would stimulate students and faculty to think about the cost of our freedoms and take a moment out of their day to remember the brave soldiers. From the positive reactions of students, I believe this was accomplished. Observing the 2390 flags from the podium while reading the names really put the death toll in perspective for me, and along with the sombering effect of the rain, it was very moving experience.
I’m so happy the flags are STILL up today! I had so much fun with all of you who helped to put them up, despite the rain and me losing my keys..haha.
This was absolutely amazing and I am so so proud of this group.
Keep up the great job everyone!
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who particpated in this event.
As many of you know I have been out of the army for a year now this summer it will be a year since my friend Trisha Jameson did in Iraq.
She was a brave medic an awesome NCO and a really good friend. I think of her almost every single day. I still have lots of friends in 313 med unit and I pray that they all return to their families soon.
Thank you so much for taking the time to honor soldiers like Trish.
Sorry for the typo I meant to say my friend Trish Died in Iraq a year ago it gets really hard to talk about her sometimes.
Thank you to everyone who worked to put together the “Tribute to the Fallen.” It was so very powerful in it’s simplicity and message. My dad, who is a Vietnam Veteran, also wanted to express his gratitude. When he returned from Vietnam, having lost his right leg, he was greeted with chants of “baby killer” and “butcher.” So he was really thankful for what you did yesterday. Thanks again - it was meaningful.
I sincerely thank everyone for helping make this event such a meaningful tribute. It came out exactly how I had envisioned it so long ago and I thank everyone for all that they did. As someone with family in this war, and loved ones lost in wars past, I can truly say that this was a very great tribute to those that offer so much more than we ever will to this country, their life. Those values that we fight so passionately for are nothing without the men and women that these flags represent. Today, I am thankful more than ever to be an American.
As an UNO alum & former Student Dem, I want to applaud your many efforts over the last several semesters. Your recent event “Tribute to the Fallen” was very powerful. Keep up the good work, you’re making a difference.
I would like to extend my gratitude to the uno democrats for the tribute, but I think this should be a non partisan affair… I would not discourage you from such actions. But being a veteran I can tell you something like this would mean a lot more if both sides contributed. Is it posible to get the uno republicans or other student groups behind this?
Aaron it would be nice, but unfortunately I believe many of them would not cooperate. As I stood handing out fliers and buttons, we came across several UNO college republicans, and, while a couple of them were really supportive, the others were incredibly disrespectful. I am not sure why they felt the need to shake their heads at us or mock us, but I think they are too self righteous to have anything to do with us. Although this event was put on by us, it doesnt mean that it was specifically related to the democrats. This event was for all people, whether they are students on campus, or the soldiers and their families.
If the Republicans would have had this event, I doubt there would be anybody saying that they should have invited the Democrats to help out. This was a way for the members of this group to honor the men and women who have given their life in Iraq. Nothing more.
Maybe the Republicans are just feeling guilty because they know it was their president that is responsible for the each one of those flags.
The “Tribute to the Fallen” was an event put on to remind students, faculty and the community of the sacrifices that American soldiers have made for their country and it is important to remain focused on that fact. I was reminded of that fact once again while watching television today.
Here is a website that was mentioned on CNN today that pays tribute to the fallen female soldiers in Iraq: http://www.afemalesoldier2.com.
While I would encourage everyone to speak freely on this blog, as it is meant to be an open and honest discussion, I would encourage everyone to participate in the discussion in a non-partisan way that accomplishes the same objective as the students initial intent, TO PAY TRIBUTE TO THE FALLEN.