Veterans Day has passed, but throughout the year we remember those who have served our nation in times of war and peace. When the Iowa Memorial Union (IMU) was dedicated in 1926, James Weaver, an 1882 graduate of the College of Law and prominent Des Moines attorney, spoke of its eternal message:

“If this magnificent structure is to fulfill the dreams out of which it has arisen, it can only do so by stirring the impulses of the young men and women of Iowa to lives of service to mankind.”

Thirty years later, on March 25, 1956, the Memorial Honor Roll was dedicated at the same site in remembrance of students, alumni, faculty, staff, and others associated with the university who lost their lives in combat. Paul Engle, director of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, read from his poem “For the Iowa Dead” at the service of dedication:

“Some left an office, cornfield, factory, But these men left the study of mankind, Glory and gloom of mortal history, The wonder, madness, logic of the mind, The live cell, atoms cunningly combined. They closed their books, death closed their eyes, so we, The lucky Iowa living, still could find A future in our human liberty.”

Today, the Memorial Honor Roll occupies not only a prominent place in the Hubbard Commons of the IMU; it also occupies a new home on the web at imu.uiowa.edu/memorial. The site is a collaborative effort of the UI Student Veterans Association, the UI Military and Veteran Student Services Office, and the UI Archives, UI Libraries. The individuals memorialized on the site are identified by the conflict in which they served: World War I, World War II, Southeast Asian Conflicts, the Korean Conflict, and Operation Enduring Freedom. Visitors to the site will also find links to related memorials in Iowa, including the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum in Waterloo, the Iowa Veterans Cemetery in Van Meter, and the Iowa Gold Star Military Museum in Johnston.

Old Gold joins all who express gratitude to those who have given.