Veterans visit for the 2024 Veterans Week at College of the Ozarks

College of the Ozarks will host Veterans Week activities, Nov. 5–11, 2025, honoring men and women who have served and sacrificed for our country. Veterans Week will include ceremonies, dedications, guest speakers, and the annual Veterans Day Sunrise Service.

“Veterans Week at College of the Ozarks is a time to honor the men and women who have served our nation and to remind ourselves of the freedoms their sacrifice has preserved,” said Chassidy Brittain, director of patriotic activities. “For our students and campus community, it is more than a week of ceremonies, it is a time to reflect, to learn, and to carry forward a renewed sense of gratitude and responsibility. In keeping with the College’s Patriotic Pillar, we hope the community leaves our campus with a deeper appreciation of American heritage, a stronger sense of civic responsibility, and a renewed love of country.”

The public is invited to attend the following events:

Wednesday, Nov. 5

• 10 a.m. – Veterans Week Opening Ceremony, Patriots Park (hosted by the Branson Veterans of America 913)
• 2 p.m. – Vietnam 101 Patriotic Film Festival, Royal Oak Forum
  • Guest: Captain John Sorensen, United States Army (Vietnam helicopter pilot)

Thursday, Nov. 6

• 8 a.m. – POW/MIA Network Memorial Service, Royal Oak Forum
• 2 p.m. – Vietnam 101 Patriotic Film Festival, Royal Oak Forum
  • Guest: Colonel John Clark

Friday, Nov. 7

• 10 a.m. – Vietnam 101 Patriotic Film Festival, Royal Oak Forum
• 3 p.m. – Vietnam 2024 Tree Dedication, Veterans Grove
• 5 p.m. – USS Pueblo – A Year of Crises in America, Royal Oak Forum (hosted by the POW/MIA Network)

Saturday, Nov. 8

• All day – College of the Ozarks Homecoming Weekend, campus wide
• 12:30 p.m. – Dedication of plaque honoring Brigadier General Bradley Leonard, United States Army and College of the Ozarks alumnus, Patriots Plaza

Tuesday, Nov. 11 (Veterans Day)

• 7 a.m. – Veterans Day Sunrise Service, Alumni Veterans Memorial
• 2 p.m. – Vietnam 101 Patriotic Film Festival, Royal Oak Forum – Captain John Sorensen
  • Guest: Captain John Sorensen
• 7 p.m. – Vietnam 101 Patriotic Film Festival, Royal Oak Forum – Seargent Major Eddie Neas

Former Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe and College of the Ozarks President Brad Johnson participate in laying a wreath to honor College of the Ozarks and School of the Ozarks alumni who made the ultimate sacrifice for the country.

College of the Ozarks POW/MIA Campus

College of the Ozarks was the first college to be honored with the title of POW-MIA Campus. This honor was proclaimed by the Board of Directors at Jefferson’s Barracks POW-MIA Museum and was presented at Patriots Park by Scott Readnour. 

College of the Ozarks stands resolute in that no American serviceman or servicewoman who can be recovered shall be knowingly left behind on the field of battle. This status will serve to honor the sacrifices of all American Prisoners of War, which is presently 81,395 who are still missing, and those who have surrendered their freedom and endured great hardship for the defense of American Liberties and Values.

College of the Ozarks is proud to fly the POW-MIA Flag, which was designed by Newt Heisley in 1972. It stands as a symbol of our Nation’s concern and commitment to resolving as fully as possible the fates of Americans still prisoner, missing, and unaccounted for from all U.S. Wars.

More About College of the Ozarks Patriots Park

The Patriotic Pillar at College of the Ozarks is to encourage an understanding of American heritage, civic responsibility, love of country, and willingness to defend it. Patriots Park at College of the Ozarks is an addition to the College which encompasses Veterans Grove and other memorials built by the College to honor those who have served and sacrificed for this country. Guests are welcome to visit Patriots Park daily, from sunrise to 10 p.m. The memorials on campus were made possible by the generosity of Johnny Morris, founder and CEO of Bass Pro Shops, and the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar Lodge golf tournament. The College was one of the charitable beneficiaries of this tournament.

Wreath displayed at Alumni Veterans Memorial to honor S of O and C of O alumni who made the ultimate sacrifice

More About Alumni Veterans Memorial

The Alumni Veterans Memorial is located on the lawn adjacent to the library, south of Williams Memorial Chapel. The memorial contains the names of College of the Ozarks alumni who fought in the Armed Services and paid the ultimate sacrifice with their lives. In 2013 a new memorial was erected and dedicated to replace an earlier memorial which had become weathered and was not large enough to accommodate additional names. When the original memorial was placed in 1983, two names, Melvin Smith, who attended The School of Ozarks in the 1940s, and Anthony Blair, Class of 1962, were inadvertently not listed. The new memorial pays tribute to Smith and Blair, and other sons of The School of the Ozarks who paid the ultimate sacrifice.