This plaque will be reinstalled on the Daniel S. Walko Memorial and rededicated during a Veterans Day service at Penn State Wilkes-Barre.
DALLAS, Pa. — Penn State Wilkes-Barre will host a ceremony on Veterans Day to honor the bravery and dedication of our nation’s service members on November 11 from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. The event will also serve as a rededication for the Daniel S. Walko Memorial, which honors a fallen service member who was a campus alumnus.
The service will be held in the arboretum behind the student commons. A dessert reception in the community room of Hayfield House will follow. Students, staff, faculty and community members are invited.
“Many of our veterans gave up that time between ages 18 and 22-plus to serve our country, prior to coming back to further their education,” said Jacqueline Warnick-Piatt, alumni relations and stewardship officer and coordinator of the event. “The courage and dedication of these young adults leave me speechless. We can never do enough for our veterans.”
Daniel S. Walko was a graduate of Penn State who was killed while serving in Vietnam on Aug. 8, 1970, just a few weeks after he turned 21. He was a graduate of Coughlin High School who received an associate degree in drafting and design technology from Penn State Wilkes-Barre in 1969. Two months after graduation, he enlisted in the Army and was sent to Vietnam as a medic. He was promoted to head medic in May 1970.
The original memorial was dedicated by his classmates. It included a wall, two benches and a large illuminated bulletin board near the lion shrine. After the original memorial was destroyed during a storm in 2012, the plaque was saved and placed in the Student Affairs office. Members of the campus Veterans Service Club initiated discussions with Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer Lynda Goldstein about reinstalling the plaque outdoors.
“The passage of time does not diminish the significance of the Daniel Walko memorial,” said Rebecca Sarver, assistant teaching professor of criminal justice and adviser to the Veterans Service Club. “It serves as a reminder that we must never forget the sacrifices made by him and all our service members. It signifies our commitment as a campus community to acknowledging and supporting veterans, both on campus and in the community.”
Those in attendance at the event will include Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer Lynda Goldstein; Commander Charles Stockage from District 12 of the American Legion; Linda (Walko) Keast, Daniel Walko’s sister; members of the Veterans Service Club, including president Matthew Urban and student veterans Jonathan Kelly and Brandon Maher; and alumni veterans.
“This was truly a team project,” Warnick-Piatt said. “We are thrilled to be able to rededicate Walko’s memorial, especially after our Veterans Support Club worked so hard for five years to install the Veterans Memorial on campus. It truly shows how dedicated the students of the Veterans Support Club are. They were instrumental in this project.”
