The keynote speaker at a Veterans Day event at Monmouth College said institutions like Monmouth will play an important role in shaping the military of the future.
Brig. Gen. Chris Lawson began his distinguished military career while a student at Monmouth, completing the ROTC program before graduating in 1988.
“Americans are movie stars around the world,” he said at a Monday afternoon ceremony in the Veterans Memorial Great Room of the Center for Science and Business. “We’re recognized as being different, as protectors of the free world. That’s a tremendous responsibility, and one which we should not take lightly.”
Lawson said the changing nature of the behavior of war – which will include an emphasis on cyber warfare, currency manipulation and clandestine efforts – will make a liberal arts education even more valuable.
“There’s a complexity to these things, and I’m deeply grateful for the well-rounded education I received here and for the experiences I had here.”
An important part of Lawson’s military career has been service in other countries, giving him a global perspective that is increasingly necessary. He said military service provides an opportunity “to see some things that change your life.”
While “patriotism” is an important word on Veterans Day, Lawson said that service to one’s country is just part of the experience for members of the military.
“A service member will know that they serve for their brothers and sisters they serve with,” he said. “It’s not necessarily about country. Military service is about people.”
Lawson shared three “miracles” from his military career, including an early medical mission in Bolivia in 1988. There, he witnessed a lifeless child being brought into his medical unit and walking out on her own after being administered antibiotics and fluids.
He also recounted two harrowing experiences involving enemy fire, including a 104-mm rocket that landed on the roof of his building in Iraq in 2007 but did not explode.
“When your number comes up, your number comes up, but that wasn’t my day,” he said. Six years later, in 2013, an improvised explosive device blew a 50-meter hole in the perimeter not far from him, which allowed 13 suicide bombers to infiltrate the base. He called it simple “luck” that he was not killed, either by the enemy or by friendly fire as he dashed around the base to reach the emergency operations center.
The event was organized by Andy Davis, Marnie Dugan and Nicole Trego. Davis and Trego are veterans. The ceremony concluded with a solemn performance of “Taps” by award-winning trumpeter Nick Thomas ’21.
Barry McNamara - Communications & Marketing
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