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University of Utah honors veterans of WWII in special event

Posted at 8:22 AM, Nov 10, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-11 00:09:56-05

SALT LAKE CITY -- For their 21st annual veteran's day ceremony, the University of Utah recognized veterans across the state for their remarkable stories of service.

At 94-years-old, staff sergeant Carl J. Workman recalls the story of his service during World War II.

“It’s nice for me to be here to tell the story being as old as I am,” said Workman.

He's one of 11 veterans honored by the University of Utah Friday. Paul Morgan, Director of the University of Utah Veteran’s Support Center organized the event.

“We have WWII veterans. Those that were pilots. Those that served in Okinawa and Saipan. We have some recent era veterans. Some that are still serving as well,” said Morgan.

As a former air force pilot, Congressman Chris Stewart says military service is in his DNA.

“These are my father's air force wings. He was a pilot in WWII,” said Stewart.

“Every year there's about 200,000 young men and women that raise their hand and take that same oath and someday they may be up on that stage as well,” says Morgan.

Workman was in the middle of his junior year at Park City High School when Pearl Harbor was attacked.

“It was an honor to fight for the country then. I was drafted but I'd still volunteer,” said Workman.

He fought in horrific, deadly battles in both Okinawa and Saipan where only nine of the 200 in his unit survived.

“War is no good, but we got to win a war to have the freedom and peace that we got today,”  he said.

Workman is one of the hundreds of thousands of Americans who sacrifice everything to make this country the land of the free.

This veteran's day marks the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.

The student union at the University of Utah will display artifacts from that war all month long, including items honoring U students who died in World War I.