Kennesaw, Ga. (Nov. 11, 2009) — A fly-in by an Army Blackhawk helicopter and the blessing of the flags highlighted Veterans Day ceremonies at Kennesaw State University. The event was sponsored by the KSU ROTC Club, the KSU Students in Free Enterprise Team and the KSU Veterans Club.

“We invited all area veterans to join us to celebrate the Army’s Year of the Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) and honor them for their dedication to training and leading soldiers beneath their rank,” said faculty adviser Gary B. Roberts, professor of management and entrepreneurship in the Coles College of Business and an Army veteran of Vietnam and Operation Desert Storm.

In keeping with the NCO theme, Sgt. Maj. Meinrad Kuettel of the 78th Aviation Troop Command of the Georgia Army National Guard gave the keynote speech, after which all veterans were invited to the stage for recognition of their service.

Finally, Rev. Keith B. Whitmore, assistant bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta and a former Army chaplain, performed the blessing of the flags ceremony for those who brought an American flag.

After the ceremony, guests were invited to get a closer look at the helicopter and a Humvee displayed on the Campus Green and talk with the soldiers who operate them.

“As has become a tradition, the ceremony honored former Georgia Tech Army ROTC cadet, 1st Lt. Tyler Hall Brown, who was killed in Iraq in 2004, and all members of our armed forces who gave their lives in defense of our freedom and/or served honorably,” Roberts said.