High Point, NC - High Point University welcomed more than 2,000 veterans, family members and community guests to the Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena and Conference Center today for the 13th Annual Veterans Day Celebration, honoring veterans who have served our nation.

HPU’s Veterans Day Celebration is believed to be the largest Veterans Day celebration on a college campus, and today’s audience of more than 2,000 is the largest in the event’s history.

In addition, HPU President Nido Qubein announced that the university received a $1 million gift to establish a pro bono law clinic within the Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law, which welcomes its first class in the fall of 2024 as HPU celebrates its 100th anniversary. The pro bono clinic will provide free legal services to veterans on a wide variety of matters.

“Today as we honor our nation’s military and the freedoms our military provides us, I’m pleased to share that HPU is establishing a pro bono law clinic specifically for veterans,” said Qubein. “Funded by a $1 million donation, HPU will support veterans as they navigate veteran affairs issues. It will be operated by the faculty, staff and students of the Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law, right here in our city of High Point. HPU’s free legal clinic aligns perfectly with the values of our God, family and country school.”

The pro bono law clinic will be a crucial learning component for students in HPU’s new law school to ensure they receive hands-on, real-world learning. The pro bono law clinic continues HPU’s tradition of giving back to the community. HPU’s Pro Bono Physical Therapy Clinic provides professional physical therapy services to uninsured and underinsured patients in the Piedmont Triad, as well as exercise classes, a food pantry and more.

Kurt Muse, a U.S. Army veteran and author of “Six Minutes to Freedom,” shared his harrowing experience as a hostage of Panama dictator Manuel Noreiga in 1989. Muse detailed how he and a group of friends formed Voice of Liberty and interrupted Noriega’s speech after the murder of a close friend. Muse spent nine months in solitary confinement after being captured and interrogated by the government of Panama. He turned to mental fortitude and thanked God for another day of life while sleeping on a cell’s cement floor. Muse was rescued by U.S. Army Delta Force operators who penetrated the prison’s roof and took him out by helicopter.

“We’re here to take you home,” Muse recalled the solders saying as he was rescued. “It was the best Christmas my family has ever had. Every year on the 20th of December – and I’ve done this for 35 years – I call each and every single one of my rescuers to thank them for saving my life and bringing me home.”

Patriotic Appreciation Abounds

The event was filled with patriotic speakers and moments to show appreciation for veterans, who were welcomed to a free breakfast and a red carpet surrounded with cheering HPU students. More than 150 student and staff volunteers greeted and assisted veterans throughout the event. The North Carolina Brass Band provided patriotic music along with the HPU Chamber Singers.

The program included Clark, a bald eagle that soared above the audience as the HPU Chamber Singers sang “America the Beautiful.” Attendees enjoyed a free photo opportunity with the eagle after the event.

The event also included the Star of Service and Sacrifice for veterans to sign. This is the second 5-foot star that will be displayed on HPU’s campus as a reminder for students of the sacrifices that have been made for our freedom.

Among the veterans in attendance was 100-year-old Brigadier General Norman C. “Snapper” Gaddis, a U.S. Air Force officer who was commissioned in the Army Air Corps in World War II and served in the newly formed Air Force during the Korean War. He was a prisoner of war for 2,124 days during the Vietnam War.

“I think it’s something very, very special that you’ve got people who took those chances,” said Gaddis. “There were a lot of other people who were in the prison camp with me in Vietnam – about 600 of them.”

This year, a student essay contest honored the leadership, life and career of Brig. Gen. Gaddis with the themes of patriotism and honor. Dozens of students submitted essays. The winner was junior Caitlin Black, and seniors Jonathan Hahn and Megan Hovey were named the finalists. Each of them received a cash prize and a trophy. The essay contest and award were funded by the MJ Hall and Jay Stobbs Leadership in Military and Veterans Awareness Endowment.

“I think it’s absolutely fantastic to recognize all veterans who are still around,” said retired Col. Emmett E. “Jay” Stobbs Jr., who served from 1965 to 1999. “We came last year, and you all did such a great job here that we couldn’t refuse to come back.”

Student Government Association President Hannah L. Parson said she feels honored to have participated in the Veterans Day Celebration for the last three years and will miss it after her graduation in May.

“High Point University is a God, family and country school, and I think this is a day when we really see that country side of things,” said Parson. “We get to honor and appreciate our veterans, and that is so sweet. We’re a community both inside and outside of campus, and this is one of my favorite ways to connect with and honor and celebrate that community. There’s really nothing like the arena full of individuals who have sacrificed and served our country.”

The university installed 3,000 pounds of steel from the remains of New York City’s Twin Towers forged into lettering underneath the 30-foot-wide American Flag display. Veterans reacted with visible emotion as they viewed this patriotic display, among many others in the facility that celebrate HPU’s God, family and country values.

HPU Students Spark National Veterans Initiative

The event also included the donation of two track chairs to help wounded veterans, thanks to Operation K.A.R.E. (Knowledge. Awareness. Results. Empowerment.), an initiative HPU students and Kappa Alpha Order members started in 2016 in conjunction with The Independence Fund to support catastrophically wounded veterans. One chair will go to North Carolina veteran Derek Coble, and another chair will go to the Veterans View Intake Center in Mocksville.

Hearing directly from a veteran about how a track chair would drastically improve his mobility and allow him to play with his children in the backyard made KA members realize the impact of their gift, said Michael Esposito, a 2017 graduate and member of the KA order. The fraternity brothers, who were also of military age, took on this mission and partnered with The Independence Fund to express their gratitude to those who served our country.

“We were motivated to take on this mission because we wanted to express our gratitude and support our nation’s most deserving,” said Esposito. “We wanted to serve those who had served.”

The initiative has grown to include the participation of 75 other KA chapters across the country, including several SEC schools. Operation K.A.R.E. has now raised and donated more than $1.2 million nationally to provide track chairs and support The Independence Fund’s programs that help veterans overcome physical and psychological wounds of war.

As is tradition at the annual event, HPU will donate approximately 100 American flags to local nonprofits, schools and government buildings.

HPU’s Annual Veterans Day Celebration is supported by the Sheriff Family Veterans Awareness Endowment, the MJ Hall and Jay Stobbs Leadership in Military and Veterans Awareness Endowment, D.H. Griffin Construction, River Landing at Sandy Ridge, Harvest Table Culinary Group and Bob Hope Legacy.