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Memorial Day Ceremony Spurs Deep Thoughts

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X贸chitl Rodriguez Murillo speaks on stage at event.
X贸chitl Rodriguez Murillo 鈥08, deputy secretary for minority and underrepresented veterans at the California Department of Veterans Affairs, urged attendees to remember the meaning behind Memorial Day. (DJ Nicholson/嘿嘿视频)

As a popular study spot, the Memorial Union is a common place for deep thought. Last week it became a place for the kind of deep thought reflected in its name as dozens gathered for the annual 嘿嘿视频 Memorial Day Ceremony, honoring Gold Star Aggies who died in military service to the United States.

鈥淲e owe a debt to those who died in service to this nation,鈥 said keynote speaker X贸chitl Rodriguez Murillo 鈥08, deputy secretary for minority and underrepresented veterans at the California Department of Veterans Affairs and a sergeant in the Army Reserve. 鈥淚t is important to their collective legacy that we remind others why they can spend this holiday swimming and barbecuing as the unofficial beginning of summer.鈥

She said she is proud to work for an agency that advocates for California鈥檚 veterans.

鈥淭o me this is what Memorial Day is all about,鈥 she said.

ROTC cadets place flags on the Quad.
Jheyaun Wang, left, and Sehij Brar and two other Army ROTC cadets placed 136 flags on the Quad鈥檚 Centennial Walk, each representing a Gold Star Aggie. (Nathan Rolls/嘿嘿视频)
American flags are on display outside of the Memorial Union
Another 136 flags were on display on the Memorial Union鈥檚 North Plaza, where the Memorial Day Ceremony was held. The building houses the Golden Memory Book. (DJ Nicholson/嘿嘿视频)

Chancellor Gary S. May, speaking at his first Memorial Day Ceremony on campus since joining 嘿嘿视频 in 2017 (having missed the others because they conflicted with Board of Regents' meetings), said he hoped the day would remind attendees of the meaning behind the Memorial Union, which is so named in memory of the Gold Star Aggies.

鈥淚t's an honor to be here to pay my respects and honor to the courageous Americans who have died while defending our nation and our best ideals,鈥 he said.

Kevin Alvarez walks off stage
Kevin Alvarez

The speakers were followed by six students affiliated with the Veterans Success Center, who read the names of the 136 Gold Star Aggies 鈥 students and alumni who died in military service dating back to World War I and as recently as 2017.

鈥淚t reminds me a lot of why I initially signed up to join the military,鈥 said Kevin Alvarez, a junior environmental policy analysis and planning major and a senior airman in the Air Force Reserve. The event happened to fall on the four-year anniversary of the day he enlisted. 鈥淩eading off their names is a small way to say thank you.鈥

Henry Chong-Heng Yang, a junior majoring in environmental science and management who served in the Army from 2005 to 2014, said he felt 鈥渁 void of information鈥 looking at the list of names he would be reading, until he saw a flower petal fall from the wreath on display during the event.

鈥淚t feels just like that,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hey never got to bloom at all.鈥

He wiped tears from his eyes as he described the emotion he felt while listening to taps being performed by fellow undergrad Evan Ichiro Yamada.

Yang said reflecting on the names of the Gold Star Aggies 鈥渢riggered a philosophical debate鈥 within him about the purpose and toll of armed conflict around the world.

Learn more about our Gold Star Aggies by reading their stories in , which is on display in the east wing of the Memorial Union.

Evan Ichiro Yamada performs taps.
Evan Ichiro Yamada performs taps at the Memorial Day Ceremony. (Nathan Rolls/嘿嘿视频)
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Cody Kitaura is a News and Media Relations Specialist in the Office of Strategic Communications, and can be reached by email or at 530-752-1932.

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