On November 11, 2021, the Rockefeller Center and the Dickey Center for International Understanding co-sponsored a Veterans’ Day lecture by Dartmouth President Emeritus James Wright titled “Veterans Today and the Wars in Which They Have Served.” Hosted by Rockefeller Center Director Jason Barabas ’93, Wright invited listeners to reconsider the shifting landscape of America’s wars and, in doing so, better understand the sacrifice, struggles, and valiant work of those who have served.

Having spent years giving remarks in remembrance of service members and visiting veterans to learn their stories and encourage them to continue pursuing their education, Wright noted that these experiences—and in particular, one speech at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C.—inspired him to “sharpen” his understanding of those who serve, what they experience, and the challenges they face. Much of America today only hears about the details of a war—casualties, victories, losses—through numbers; however, Wright argued, “numbers can numb our recognition” of those who serve and “their humanity.”

In commemoration of Veterans Day, the Rockefeller Center co-hosted a conversation on diversity and inclusion in the military co-sponsored with the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding on November 11, 2020. Moderated by Associate Professor of Government Jason Lyall, panelists included Brad Carney ’20, an Army veteran who served in the 82nd Airborne Division and later as an Army Ranger in the 3rd Ranger Battalion, and Karla Rosas ’20, who served in the Air Force for five years as a Security Forces member.