Dear Editor:I am sure most of you saw the Army and Air Force ROTC Cadets standing watch at the flag pole at Old Main on Veterans Day. I bet you didn’t know that they were there all night long. At approximately 2:00 a.m. I watched as they changed their details. I was truly impressed and proud of these young ROTC Soldiers as they performed the change in true military fashion. They didn’t just walk up to the flag pole and swap places. These soldiers did it as if they were performing for a large crowd. They marched up to the flag pole and properly relieved the detail that was there. The young soldiers were very professional and took what they were doing very seriously.

They didn’t know they were being watched. They did it because they were proud to pay tribute to those veterans who have gone before them and those who will go after them. As a U.S. Army Veteran, I was proud to watch these young soldiers and see them take pride in what they were doing. I salute those Army and Air Force ROTC Soldiers for their commitment to excellence and pride in the United States Military. It is a true reflection of the soldiers who train them here at SIU.