This Memorial Day we join our campus community in remembering our country’s heroes: Veterans who have died while in service to the United States. We honor their sacrifice and thank them for protecting our freedoms.
Note: This photo was taken during the National Anthem at Villanova University’s 2023 graduation.
This Memorial Day, Falvey and the Office of Veterans and Military Service Members at Villanova University wanted to share with our Villanova community a part of our project “The Voices of Villanova’s Veterans.” “Honoring the Fallen: An Interactive Memorial Map” displays the names of Villanova veterans killed in service, along with their branch of service, location, and year of death. For those veterans reported missing in action, we have mapped the nearest location of where they were last seen.
This project will honor the life and sacrifice of Villanova veterans who died while serving their country. Reflecting extensive research and collaboration, this interactive map will remember their service. This map allows users anywhere on the globe to access this map, and creates an access point for family members, the community, historians, and anyone else interested in learning about their legacy.
This Memorial Day—and every day—Villanova honors its veterans and pay tribute to their service and sacrifice by ensuring that they are never forgotten.
Note: This blog originally appeared May 31, 2021.
Shawn Proctor, MFA, is Communication and Marketing Program Manager at Falvey Memorial Library.
The memorial above rests in front of John Barry Hall, Villanova University.
“With profound respect, we salute all the Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen from Villanova who sacrificed their lives in the defense of the nation. Their legacy of fidelity and valor abides forever ‘neath the spires of St. Thomas.” —The surviving Veterans of the Second World War (1999)
This Memorial Day and every day, Falvey Library honors those who have died in service to this country.
Memorial Day and every day, Villanova University honors its veterans for their heroism, service and sacrifice to our country. This year, we highlight Thomas Driscoll ’87 COE, who served in the US Marine Corps. His entry on the Honoring the Fallen: An Interactive Memorial Map celebrates his fearlessness and recounts the circumstances around his 1991 death in Villagarcía de la Torre, Spain:
“When his AV-8B was in trouble, Thomas Driscoll steered away from the Spanish village of Villagarcia de la Torre and ejected with the plane upside down. His parachute broke away before he reached the ground. The investigation determined that a problem with the ailerons caused the crash, but offered no explanation for the parachute failure. Thomas Driscoll, 26, who graduated from Villanova University on a Navy ROTC scholarship, “never seemed intimidated by the Harrier,” said his father John Driscoll.”
The Voices of Villanova’s Veterans is an oral history project, in collaboration with the Office of Veterans and Military Service Members and Falvey Memorial Library’s Distinctive Collections and Digital Engagement Department. We hope to capture the stories of veterans with connections to Villanova, archive them, and make them available to family members, friends, and the community. This project will illustrate the strong bond that Villanova has with service to the country and will bear witness to those stories.
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