SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A special Veterans Day chapel service will be held Tuesday, Nov. 13 in the Evangel University Chapel Auditorium. The service will begin promptly at 9:58 a.m. with the Bear Battalion ROTC posting the Colors and the EU Marching Band performing The Star-Spangled Banner.
All U.S. military veterans (active duty, reserves and retired) among our students, faculty, staff and alumni will be honored by the chapel event.
Special tribute also will be paid to the Gold StarFamily of EU alumnus First Lieutenant David A. Johnson. Johnson, a 2010 graduate, was killed in action in Afghanistan on Jan. 25, 2012. The following family members will be in attendance: Johnson’s parents Andrew and Laura; and siblings, Michael (EU Class of 2012), Matthew (current EU freshman) and Emily (HS).
Other special guests will include the following:
- Chaplain (COL) Scott McChrystal, Director of the Chaplaincy Department for Assemblies of God U.S. Missions
- Lt COL Dale Garrett, USAF (Ret.), who was Johnson’s faculty advisor at EU
- MAJ Doug Schenck, who was Johnson’s ROTC Instructor at EU, and who preached at Johnson’s hometown memorial service in Wisconsin
- CAPT Nathan Smith, who was LT Johnson’s Company Commander in Afghanistan
- SGT Joshua Davis (EU ’10), who escorted Johnson’s body from arrival at Dover AFB to both memorial services (Wisconsin and Fort Lewis-McChord, Washington), and to the interment at Arlington National Cemetery
Dr. Bryan Sanders is chair of the social sciences department, home of the EU ROTC Program. He and his wife, Virginia Sanders, executive assistant to President Robert H. Spence, will provide hospitality for the Johnson family throughout their visit to EU next week.
For more information, contact Bryan Sanders at (417) 865-2811, ext. 8223.
Evangel University is a private, Christian university of arts, sciences and professions. With an enrollment of more than 2,000 students from all 50 states and abroad, Evangel offers more than 100 undergraduate academic programs and nine master’s programs.