“They say you die twice. One time when you stop breathing and a second time, a bit later on, when somebody says your name for the last time.”
This is the quote that came to mind as a passing student stopped on his way to class to listen as 7,041 names of fallen soldiers were read on Simpson’s Plaza. The event is known as the National Roll Call, a staple at the University of Wyoming, representing a tradition of remembrance that remains significant for students, faculty, and members of the military on campus.
The National Roll Call began at Eastern Kentucky University 11 years ago, with the list of names provided by the Department of Defense, reflecting lives lost in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Each year, UW’s Veteran Services received a longer list, but with the cessation of these wars, the list read on Friday, Nov. 11, is as long as it will ever be.
Program Director at Veteran Services and event organizer Marty C. Martinez described the University’s decision to continue participating in the Roll Call.
“The last people entered were the last 13 who lost their lives when we were exiting Afghanistan. The National Roll Call as a project is no more, because it ended with the war. Our students have chosen to keep doing it. This has become a marker here on campus. We have staff and faculty start emailing us in October asking to participate.”
With over 70 volunteers, a majority of which are not military, the event makes an annual impact on both participants, passers by, and especially veterans from the community. Outreach coordinator for the Wyoming Conservation Corps and U.S. Army veteran Caleb Johnson spoke about the difficulty of transitioning out of Service.
“I have lost a few friends, most of them after we got back as they were trying to reintegrate into civilian life. I have friends that took their own life and just didn’t know how to cope with that transition,” He said.
“In the military you spend 2-6 months getting absolutely broken down so you can be built back up into a soldier, airmen, marine–so you can serve the purpose they have for
you. Then after, you get about two weeks before you are back in civilian life and that’s just not enough time.”
Director Matrinez resonated with the challenge of reintegration, and saw his mission at Veteran’s Services to be, in a large part, facilitating a smoother transition for his students. For veterans and all participants and listeners, the Roll Call is significant as a time to remember their loved ones, names not on the list.
“It’s so hard to remember the men who you shake hands with as they leave but I didn’t get to shake hands with them when they came home–because they didn’t,” Martinez said.
“Something I told my brother before he died was you will never be forgotten. Those 7,041 names, for them and their families, we have to remember. They were mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters. That’s our call as veterans and our call as a society. We can never forget.”
