Ohio Northern University will honor veterans of the U.S. Armed Services by participating in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday, Aug. 1, at 12:15 p.m.
President Daniel A. DiBiasio, Athletic Director Tom Simmons, and student-athletes Kristina Klusek, a 2015 ONU graduate from Canton, Mich., and Jason Luthman, a senior mechanical engineering major from Bellbrook, Ohio, will represent ONU at the ceremony.
DiBiasio said, “Ohio Northern is honored and humbled by this tremendous opportunity. ONU’s commitment to honoring those who have given so much to the country can be traced back to the establishment of ONU, and this ceremony is a continuation of our support for the U.S. Armed Forces.”
ONU has a rich military tradition and has honored the men and women who have served the United States throughout the years. Beginning with founder Henry Solomon Lehr, a civil war veteran, who established a military department on the ONU campus from 1884-1921, to the present day where the University celebrates Veterans Day each year with its own wreath-laying ceremony. ONU has had an ROTC program since the 1980s, in cooperation with Bowling Green State University, and has been tabbed a “military friendly school” by Victory Media for the past five years.
Simmons has been instrumental in organizing this trip as well as past ceremonies to honor veterans at athletic events, such as a Veterans Appreciation Day during a 2012 football game and recognizing members of the Wounded Warrior Project at football games the past two years. He said this is a continuation of ONU’s athletic support of the men and women who have served.
Simmons added that he selected Klusek and Luthman because it was important to choose individuals who embody what it is like to be a student-athlete. Klusek, who graduated with a degree in nursing, was a standout soccer player, and in her four years she was named OAC Forward of the Year once, All-OAC twice and an Academic All-OAC selection twice. This year, she also received the Clyde Lamb Award, which recognizes the top female athlete in the OAC. Luthman has been named an Academic All-OAC selection twice and has won numerous OAC swimming championships.
