[188] Nov. 13 Planned as Day of Armed Services Events at MTSU

News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
Military Science contact: Maj. Chuck Giles, 615-898-2470 or cgiles@mtsu.edu

Nov. 13 Planned as Day of Armed Services Events at MTSU


(MURFREESBORO) — World War II veteran Charles A. Jones of McMinnville will be the recipient of the 21st annual Joe Nunley Award on Saturday, Nov. 13, at MTSU.
The presentation to Jones will be made during pregame picnic festivities as part of the 29th annual Salute to Armed Services/Veterans Day activities, said Maj. Chuck Giles, assistant professor of military science. The events are a prelude to MTSU’s 2:30 p.m. Sun Belt Conference game against North Texas.
Along with their family members, veterans and active-duty military personnel from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard are welcome to participate, Giles said.
A Veterans’ Memorial Service will be held outside the Tom H. Jackson Building starting at 11:30 a.m. The catered picnic will start at noon outside the Rose and Emmett Kennon Hall of Fame, and the Nunley Award presentation will begin at 1 p.m. In case of inclement weather, activities will be moved indoors.
Jones, born in 1923, is a native of McMinnville. He graduated from McMinnville High School and attended Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville.
Inducted into the U.S. Army at age 20 in 1943, Jones served until December 1945, said Harriett L. Howard, a former nurse and veteran and recipient of the Nunley Award in 1999. Jones served in the 88th Infantry Division, known as the Blue Devils, which fought from North Africa to Italy and to the Brenner Pass in Austria.
After the war, Jones was employed by First National Bank of McMinnville for more than 20 years. In 1965, Jones was elected state adjutant-quartermaster for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Department of Tennessee. In this role, he accounted for funds of 142 VFW posts from Kingsport to Memphis and served his fellow veterans with distinction until retiring in 1988, Howard said.
Sixteen alumni officers also have been invited to be special guests of university President Sidney A. McPhee and his wife, Liz, for the day’s events.
As of Nov. 4, five alumni officers have indicated they plan to return to campus for the festivities. They include retired Brig. Gens. Patrick W. Harrison (Class of ’51) and Robert D. Ogg Jr. (’78); retired Maj. Gen. David L. Evans ’80); active-duty Brig. Gen. Max Haston (’79); and retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Tony L. Cothron.
MT Athletics and the Department of Military Science are collaborating on a number of other activities, including a possible flyover by either National Guard or Air Force planes. Free game tickets are being provided for veterans, active-duty personnel and their families, and MTSU ROTC cadets will lead the veterans onto Jones Field when the Band of Blue plays their branch’s official song during the patriotic halftime salute.
The Marine Corps once again will collect new toy donations at the gate in the annual Toys for Tots drive.
Sponsors include State Farm Insurance, Barrett Firearms, the National Guard and Dollar General.
For more information, contact Giles at 615-898-2470 or Brad Keen, athletics marketing and promotions assistant director, at 615-494-7825.

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Media welcomed. Note: Special media credential is needed to cover the MTSU vs. North Texas football game. Contact Athletic Communications at 615-898-2968 to obtain.

Please note that Maj. Chuck Giles in the military science program has contact information pertaining to the Joe Nunley Award. He can be reached at 615-898-2470 or e-mail cgiles@mtsu.edu.

Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree—the only one in Tennessee—as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.

For MTSU news and information, go online to mtsunews.com.