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Community Corner

Veteran's 5K Run Raises Money for Those Who Bring So Much to MCC

The race, May 7, will help raise money for veteran's tuition at MCC.

There is nothing new under the sun.

If you needed any evidence of that, just look at fashion. What’s in this spring and summer: stripes, floral prints and clothes with military-inspired touches, like epaulets? To go with this military look, the jewelry of choice is dog tag necklaces.

This is not the first time that trend has surfaced; Madonna wore dog tags in the 80’s. But it’s not something I ever got into. To me certain items and images should not be co-opted as fashion accessories. I think crosses and crucifixes, the U.S. flag and dog tags all fall into that category.

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Military personal identity tags, or dog tags, were first used by the U.S. military during the Civil War, which started 150 years ago this year, in 1861. Back then soldiers, or their loved ones, would write or sew their names and addresses into their uniforms so that their bodies, should they fall during battle, could be identified and returned to their families. Manufacturers took notice and began to sell silver, gold and wooden identification tags that could be worn around the neck, under the uniform, on a leather cord. By World War II, U.S. military officials required soldiers to wear the standard issue tag, shaped like those worn by pets in case they get lost, that we’ve come to know today. Two copies are issued, designed to be separated if the body of a fallen soldier cannot be immediately recovered.

The first time I saw a set of dog tags was when I was about 12 years old and went snooping on my father’s dresser. Until I found the aluminum tags, engraved with his name, Social Security number, blood type and unit number, the only clue I’d had that my father had ever been in the Army was a worn, camouflage print jacket that he pulled out of the closet one Halloween.

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He never talked about his time in Korea and something told me not to ask. In this way, my father was like a lot of veterans for whom their time in service to the country is an off-limits subject, especially if they experienced combat. Even as a child, I could tell there was something solemn, even reverent, about his time as a soldier.

So it never even occurred to me to take his dog tags – those pieces of tin that would have been the only thing connecting him to his parents and other family and friends praying for his safe return – and wear them around my neck to complete my outfit. My father’s gone, but I have those tags in my jewelry box to remind me of the debt I owe him and other veterans for protecting the freedoms I take for granted each day.

At MCC, the large number of military veterans on campus also serves to remind me of the sacrifices many have made to ensure our way of life. I can often pick out a veteran from among other students in a class. They are the more determined ones, whose questions and comments show a maturity often beyond their years. They bring a seriousness to their class work that other students admire. For example, in one of my Public Speaking classes last year, a young man who had served in Afghanistan demonstrated how to pitch a tent in sand, following several speeches about upgrading your computer hard drive and origami. We all learned a lot more from his presentation than just another camping skill.

Veterans also bring leadership skills and diversity to the campus. They are young and old, male and female, and every ethnicity. They are club officers and student government leaders and among the first to raise their hands when volunteers are needed.

Currently, MCC is home to more than 260 military service members. Most are paying for their education through government benefits given to those who have served. But many are ineligible for the Connecticut Tuition Waiver and/or GI Bill Educational Benefits primarily due to their time of service, if they served during “peace time,” and duty status, if they were a member of the Army/Air National Guard without mobilization, for example.

To help, the college’s Veteran’s Advisory Committee is sponsoring a 5K Run, Walk, Roll on Saturday, May 7, at 10 a.m. Registration for the event will begin at 9 a.m. in the lobby of the Great Path Academy building on campus. Onsite registration or advance registration after May 1 is $30. But if you register by April 30 the cost is $25. The registration fee includes a T-shirt and tote bag. Any donation, even if you don’t walk, run or roll, is welcome and tax-deductible.

But more importantly, the funds raised at this event will aid honorably discharged service members pursuing a degree or certificate at MCC with their educational expenses. To me, supporting such events is the least we can do for our veterans.

For more information or to register for the 5K Run, Walk, Roll contact Ta’Shema Odoms at 860-512-3307 or via email, todoms@mcc.commnet.edu. You can also visit: http://www.mcc.commnet.edu/events.php?month=5&year=2011#2832.

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