As the nation prepares to mark its 250th anniversary, UC Davis’ annual Memorial Day Ceremony on May 21 will honor the Aggies who have given their lives in service of their country.
AT A GLANCE
- WHAT:
- WHEN: 12:15 p.m. on Thursday, May 21
- WHERE: Memorial Union North Patio
- COST: Free and open to all
The ceremony will feature a reading of each name of the 136 Gold Star Aggies dating back to World War I. It will be held on the North Patio of the Memorial Union, the building that was originally dedicated in honor of those Gold Star Aggies.
Our , on display in the east wing of the Memorial Union, includes names like , who enrolled at UC Davis — then the University Farm School — in 1914, just five years after it opened.
He went on to enlist in the Marine Corps and fought in France during World War I. He was killed in action during the Battle of Belleau Wood, a major flashpoint that . Kidwell is buried in the nearby Aisne-Marne American Cemetery.
Another Gold Star Aggie, , will be on the minds of attendees at this year’s ceremony: Athena Tolentino, a relative of Elliott, is scheduled to sing the National Anthem. The May 21 ceremony will also feature remarks from Pablo ReguerÃn, vice chancellor for Student Affairs.
The keynote speaker of this year’s Memorial Day Ceremony will be , an attending trauma surgeon and surgical intensivist at UC Davis Health who is also an Air Force veteran. Russo helped save the life of a fellow Air Force servicemember in 2022 by performing three emergency surgeries in UC Davis Health’s intensive care unit, because the patient was too sick to be transferred to the operating room.
Nearly two years later, Russo — who was on active duty as a lieutenant colonel at the time — , Master Sgt. Manny Salinas.
Media Resources
Cody Kitaura is the editor of Dateline UC Davis and can be reached by email or at 530-752-1932.