Monuments on campus are given attention during times of dedication and when people pass by them, yet those monuments have messages that are bigger than these instances allow someone to capture.
Among the buildings, trees, sidewalks and roads of our campus reside these tributes, sculptures and plaques dedicated to the military and peace.
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One of these tributes is to Thomas Sutherland, a former animal science teacher at CSU for 26 years. The Sutherland sculpture garden is located beside the Lory Student Center.
Sutherland was teaching at the American University of Beirut when he was kidnapped and held by Islamic Jihadists in Lebanon for approximately seven years.
“I appreciate the sacrifices he endured while trying to help other people and it’s good they dedicated a garden to him,” said John Heil, a senior geology major.
Adjacent to the garden lies a cedar Sept. 11, 2001 Peace Pole. It was dedicated on the one year anniversary of the attacks and is meant to represent diversity on campus as well.
A little west of the pole sits the four-feet-high ROTC Cadet Monument. It is a Ram’s head dedicated in 1992 to all ROTC students who join the army.
The Vietnam War bridge is right next to the ROTC monument. It is a symbol of trials and tribulations experienced by military members and anti-war protesters alike during the war. The bridge’s bricks come from the building, Old Main. The 92-year-old building on the CSU campus was burnt to the ground after polarizing views of the US involvement in the Vietnam War led to protest in the 1970s, according to James Hansen, author of “A History of Colorado State University.”
“I especially like the memorial bridge because it honors the diversity of opinion existing during that time of history for our school,” said Kasey McWilliams, a senior journalism major.
East of the bridge in the Danforth Chapel hangs a plaque dedicated to Marine Lance Corporal, Gary Ray Townsend.
The plaque states,“In memory of our departed brother he loved his fellow man, as we loved him. He served his country, and he obeyed his God. May his memory serve to be an abiding influence to help us be stronger brothers and stronger men.”
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“No one deserves to go through what these people went through and in being recognized, at least we can learn something about it or them,” said Diego Hoyos, a senior journalism major.
Collegian Military Beat Reporter Scott Fromberg can be reached at news@collegian.com.
