Contact: Maridith Geuder
A May 16 [Friday] ceremony at Mississippi State will honor an alumnus who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, as well as all of the university's Army ROTC graduates who have served the nation.
The 10 a.m. public event at the new Hunter Henry Center officially dedicates a flagpole memorial honoring Lt. Col. Jerry Dickerson Jr., the Durant native and 1983 economics graduate who was serving at the Pentagon at the time of his death in 2001. The first Dickerson Scholarship also will be announced.
Dickerson's widow, children and parents will be in attendance. Mrs. Dickerson, the former Page Dantzler of Jonesboro, Ark., is a 1983 MSU education graduate.
Friends, family and alumni launched a fund-raising effort in November 2001 to honor both the memory of the fallen active-duty alumnus and all Army Reserve Officer Training Corps graduates who have served in active military service since the program was established at the land-grant university in 1916.
Before the Pentagon attack that took nearly 190 civilian and military lives, Dickerson had served with distinction for 18 years in a variety of overseas and domestic military assignments. At the time of his death, he was a senior staff officer in the Office of the Army's vice chief of staff.
For more information about the dedication ceremony, telephone Amy Cagle of the MSU Foundation at (662) 325-1006.