As Veterans Day weekend approaches, members of the Ohio State community are honoring veterans and military personnel.
The Ohio State Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), the OSU Wexner Medical Center and the OSU men’s and women’s basketball teams will commemorate veterans in their own ways.
ROTC cadets paid respect to veterans with their annual Memorial Rock ceremony in front of Bricker Hall Thursday that recognizes more than 900 OSU alumni who have died in service to the country as members of the armed forces.
Matt Johnson, a fourth-year in business and an ROTC cadet, said the purpose of the ceremony is to keep the memory of lost heroes alive.
“There are people out there that are missing and we don’t want to make them feel like they’re forgotten,” Johnson said. “So it’s important for them and their families to realize that we’re still supporting everyone who’s made that sacrifice and not letting it go unnoticed.”
The cadets also took part in their annual Veterans Day Silent Run. As part of the event, a number of cadets ran in a loop around the Oval in silence carrying American and POW/MIA flags to honor and promote awareness for American Prisoners of War and Missing in Action.
John Castillo, a fourth-year in chemistry and an ROTC cadet, said the 12-hour, silent run is done to honor veterans and show them support for their sacrifices.
“It’s pretty much to honor those who have served and to show them that there is support on this campus, there is support in this state, and still obviously in this nation,” Castillo said.  
The Wexner Medical Center is attempting to help veterans in its own way — by developing new research that studies treatments for blast injuries, determines the lifelong effects of traumatic brain injuries and how electric impulses may be able to treat them and studies garments that may reduce burn scars and healing time.
David Crawford, an OSU Medical Center spokesman, said this research is a top priority for the university all year.  
“It’s very important for research to promote health care treatment for our veterans,” Crawford said. “This is a very core part of our mission here at Ohio State University – to perform research that can benefit our veterans and also the population at large.”
The OSU men’s and women’s basketball teams will also play a role in honoring veterans on Friday when they tip off their seasons at the second annual Carrier Classic, a game that is played on the deck of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. The basketball teams will play their 2012-2013 season openers on board the USS Yorktown in Charleston, S.C.
Dan Wallenberg, OSU’s associate athletic director of communications, said the basketball program is lucky to have the opportunity to honor veterans through these games.   
“Our veterans have made extraordinary sacrifices to allow us the freedoms we enjoy,” Wallenberg said. “Both our men’s and women’s basketball programs are fortunate to honor our military in a small way by participating in this event.”
The women are scheduled to tip off against Notre Dame at 4 p.m. while the men are scheduled to tip off against Marquette at 7 p.m.