And You Were There’ Eisenhower Portrayal Honors Veterans at Ashland University
ASHLAND, Ohio — Ken Hammontree stood before veterans and their families at Ashland University on Wednesday evening and asked them to consider the cost behind three words inscribed at West Point. “Duty, Honor, Country.”
Hammontree, a historical reenactor portraying Dwight D. Eisenhower, delivered the keynote at the Nov. 11 Veterans Day observance in the Dauch College of Business and Economics lecture hall. The Ashland University College Republicans and the In a Soldier’s Shoes Foundation hosted the program.
Hammontree powerful speech began with the signers of the Declaration of Independence and their pledge of “our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.” Then he turned to the wall of gold stars at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., and the words inscribed in front of it. “Here we mark the price of freedom.”
He addressed the veterans in the room directly as he moved through nearly 250 years of military history. At Lexington and Concord, they stood shoulder to shoulder with the Minutemen. With George Washington, they crossed the icy Delaware River and marched toward Trenton, some with cloth wrapped around their feet in place of shoes. At Gettysburg, they stood with the 20th Maine on Little Round Top.
Between those accounts, Hammontree returned to the same heartfelt cadence. The drums were beating. The bugles sounded. The flags were waving. “And you were there.”
When he reached D-Day, Hammontree spoke in character as the commander who sent Allied troops ashore in Normandy. He brought the story back to a place about the size of Ashland, asking listeners to imagine the telegrams that reached families in Bedford, Virginia, after their sons were killed. He also recalled the flag raising on Iwo Jima and told the story of Desmond Doss, the medic who carried wounded men to safety at Hacksaw Ridge.
Hammontree carried the refrain through Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War and Afghanistan. When he spoke about Vietnam, he paused to acknowledge veterans whose struggles continued after they came home. He ended with a verse about how easily people can forget the soldier once the danger has passed, then asked veterans and parents of service members to stand. The audience applauded.
When Ken Hammontree concluded the speech the audience respond with a loud applause and standing ovation.
Earlier in the evening, College Republicans President John Keim welcomed veterans and military families and said Ashland University has more than 400 students with military or military family connections. “Thank you for your service, your sacrifice, and your continued commitment to our country,” he wrote in a message accompanying the program.
Ashland University President Jon Peede recalled his work with Operation Homecoming, which helped troops put their experiences into writing. He also offered Hammontree a ceremonial coin from the Eisenhower memorial dedication, suggesting it might eventually find its way into a student’s hands.
Mayor Matt Miller asked veterans and current service members to raise their hands so the audience could thank them. He told younger attendees about a local man, nearly 90, whose wish for Ashland’s Freedom monument was that young people would understand how precious their freedom was and remember who had sacrificed for it.
State Rep. Melanie Miller recalled stopping for coffee at a Brunswick McDonald’s and spending about an hour and a half listening to veterans share their stories. She encouraged students to pull up a chair at gatherings like that one. She also said Ohio’s operating budget included more than $935,000 for Ashland University’s military family and veteran services program, supporting outreach, transition services and wellness initiatives.
Student body president Drake Crumely spoke about his grandfather, Vietnam War veteran Phil Kaiser, and said he did not receive the thanks he deserved when he returned home. Kayin McDonald, an Ashland graduate and co-founder of the In a Soldier’s Shoes Foundation, said the nonprofit ships free shoes, socks and other essentials to veterans and their families. He said more than 1,000 students took part in the foundation’s campus ruck marches across four states over the past year.
“The drums were beating. The bugles sounded. The flags were waving. And you were there, marking the price of freedom.”
