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In response to concerns about the cancellation of the 21-gun salute portion of the Veterans Day ceremony, I thought it might be useful to pass along some background on how we reached the decision.

As the son of a father who served in the Navy during the Korean War, I share views of the importance of honoring the men and women who have served in our armed forces. I fully support and am honored that UVA hosts a 24-hour vigil and Veterans Day ceremony put on by our ROTC programs each year.

Related to this year’s ceremony, the Provost’s Office and Col. Michael Hough, commanding officer of UVA’s Air Force ROTC detachment, worked closely together in making the decision to eliminate the 21-gun salute for two reasons: first, to minimize disruptions to classes, given that this event is located at the juncture of four primary academic buildings and is held at a time that classes are in session; and second, recognizing concerns related to firing weapons on the Grounds in light of gun violence that has happened across our nation, especially on school and university campuses.

They considered the option of relocating the ceremony to another place on Grounds. But given that the 21-gun salute is not a required, or even typical, part of Veteran’s Day ceremonies — as opposed to Memorial Day ceremonies, which are specifically dedicated to those who have lost their lives in service to our country — they chose to keep the ceremony at a central location on Grounds but leave out the 21-gun salute. That seemed to me, and still seems, a reasonable accommodation, given the 24-hour vigil and the other solemn and respectful elements of the ceremony.

That said, while Col. Hough and many members of our ROTC community supported the change this year, community responses have helped us to understand that many see the 21-gun salute as an important element of the Veterans Day ceremony at the University of Virginia. Given that the plans are already in place for this year, we will follow the event organizers’ recommendation to proceed without the 21-gun salute in our Veterans Day Ceremony. Following this year’s ceremony, however, we will work with our ROTC officers and cadets to take a closer look at options for our Veterans Day events, including those that would enable us to re-introduce the 21-gun salute to the program.