The BYU Air Force and Army ROTC programs held an event called “The Light of Christ – A Legacy of Leadership and Service” on Thursday, May 22.
This was a commemoration of both Memorial Day and BYU’s upcoming 150th Anniversary. Cadets, active-duty officers, veterans and family members gathered in the Wilkinson Center Garden Court to hear inspiring messages and remember the brave BYU alumni who have fought for freedom since the university’s inception.
The crowd was treated to the words of three members of BYU ROTC’s future, present and past: Cadet Laesgaw K’Chawtee, Second Lieutenant Michael Pope and Professor Ken Alford, retired Colonel. All three shared how being a disciple of Christ has impacted their time in the service.
Lt. Pope, who graduated from BYU in April, remarked on how he has been able to share the light of Christ as an active-duty soldier.
He began by describing his first day of basic training after graduation, a day that he says “hit him hard.” Immediately after stepping off the bus at Fort Jackson, he was put to work in an intense, uncaring gauntlet.
“How do you take that light of Christ and put it into this situation?” Lt. Pope asked. He referenced Captain Moroni, saying that one can be both a strong soldier and a disciple of Christ. He then explained how he sought to “brand himself” as a member of the church through his conduct.
“I taught more missionary lessons about the gospel of Jesus Christ with my fellow soldiers than I had during my entire mission,” he added. Fellow soldiers took notice of his example and were intrigued.
Professor Alford, a veteran who now teaches Church history at BYU, spent time telling the stories of past soldiers from BYU. As his words brought them to life, a spirit of admiration and appreciation filled the room.
Air Force Science Program Director Alison Bawden commented on how the program can bless and mold BYU students. She laments that the Air Force ROTC often flies under the radar.
“I don’t think people really realize that we have an Air Force ROTC,” Bawden lamented. “Sometimes they don’t even realize that we have our ROTC program.”
The program offers many benefits to students. It can help eliminate student debt for contracted cadets.
Furthermore, military careers encompass everything under the sun, from nursing, to engineering, to infantry.
A more noble benefit, however, is the impact it can make on an individual’s potential to lead out like the Savior would.
Bawden talked about the numerous connections between the values of the Air Force (and military) and the values of BYU. She mentioned three core values: Service before self, integrity and respect for all.
“Those … are all qualities that our Savior wants us to have,” she affirmed.
At the conclusion of the event, attendees were invited into the Reflection Room for the Wreath Laying Ceremony.
Standing before a wall commemorating BYU alumni who died in combat, the crowd reverently meditated as Colonel Jonathan Creer read a prepared message.
“Christ said, ‘greater love hath no man than this, that a man layeth down his life for his friends,” Colonel Creer said. “Memorial Day is a national reminder that this kind of love still exists.”
Colonel Creer closed with the following admonition:
“To the cadets, we believe in you. To the veterans, we thank you. To the faculty, students, leaders and friends, we charge you to never forget. May we be worthy of their sacrifice.”
After the message and the listing of fallen alumni, a beautiful wreath was carefully placed by the wall. It serves as a quiet reminder of the beauty of their sacrifice.