Clemson-N.C. State game designated Military Appreciation Day

Published: November 3, 2010

CLEMSON — Saturday, Nov. 6, has been designated Military Appreciation Day at Clemson University. Activities will take place before and during the Tigers' noon football game against North Carolina State University.

The United States Marine Corps Officers Program will recognize and honor Clemson’s fallen soldiers, veterans and military personnel currently serving in the armed forces. Clemson’s Army and Air Force ROTC, in collaboration with the Clemson Corps, the athletic department and Tiger Band coordinate the event each year.

Various military displays will be set up on Bowman Field beginning at 9 a.m. Veterans and current soldiers will participate in a parade to the stadium through the Clemson campus. The parade will begin on Fort Hill Street at 11 a.m. and end at the tunnel of Littlejohn Coliseum.

Cadet commanders from the Army and Air Force ROTC programs at Clemson, and a student from the Marine Officers Training Program, will dot the “i” when the band spells out “Tigers” on the field before the game. Four F-16s from Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter will fly over the stadium prior to the game. Two of the pilots are Clemson graduates – Capt. Seth Taylor, Class of 2004, and Capt. Casey Manning, Class of 2005.

Members of the South Carolina National Guard will toss a commemorative coin at the beginning of the game. The coin was designed to honor soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Halftime activities will feature a parade of veterans and current soldiers onto the field, the introduction of families of 29 fallen soldiers from South Carolina, the placement of a wreath, helmet and boots to signify the fallen soldier, a 21-gun salute by Clemson’s Company-C-4 Pershing Rifles and the playing of "Taps" by the Tiger band.

Commemorative T-shirts are available in stores in downtown Clemson, and a portion of the proceeds will go to the Army and Air Force ROTC programs at Clemson.

END