May. 31, 2021
Memorial Day Remembrance
Dear Campus Community,
On this Memorial Day, when we honor U.S. military members who have lost their lives in defense of this country, it is important that we remember the sacrifices made by members of our Central community during armed conflicts.
Those Central students, faculty, and staff who we commemorate today include brothers, husbands, mothers, sisters, and friends—all of whom made the ultimate sacrifice while serving their country.
To each, we offer our most sincere and humble thanks and appreciation, and we re-commit ourselves to recognizing your strength, courage, and dignity in the defense of liberty, not only today but every day.
Memorial Day is about keeping alive the legacies of those we have lost. It is remembering the sacrifices of Central alumni like Douglas Munro, who died heroically during World War II while saving the lives of 500 Marines. Munro was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor—the only member of the U.S. Coast Guard to be so honored.
Today is also recalling the bravery of Clifton Alford, who died in 1944 while flying a B-17 bomber on a mission over France; San DeWayne Francisco, who was shot down over Vietnam just six days before he was to return home; and Bryan Christopher Black, who was serving as a medic in southwest Niger when he and three fellow Special Forces soldiers were killed in action during an ambush in 2017.
Please join me today in taking a moment to pause and reflect upon the sacrifices of all who have died in service of our country and to thank them for what they gave up on our behalf.
Sincerely,
James L. Gaudino
President