The University of Illinois Springfield will honor military service members and veterans with a series of campus events leading up to and on Veterans Day, including the annual placement of hundreds of yellow ribbons on campus trees, a keynote address by an Illinois National Guard general, a flag ceremony and an open house at the Military and Veteran Student Resource Center.
Yellow Ribbon Placement — 3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6
UIS students will place hundreds of yellow ribbons on trees along University Drive, Vachel Lindsay Drive and throughout the heart of campus to honor military service members and veterans. Volunteers will meet at the Student Leadership Center inside the Student Union, 2251 Richard Wright Drive, Springfield.
The annual tradition began in 2012 when a UIS student organized the first ribbon placement. The UIS Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center continues the tradition by organizing student volunteers each year.
Veterans Day Program and Flag Ceremony — 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11
UIS will host a Veterans Day program featuring keynote speaker Brig. Gen. Jorge M. Fonseca, director of the Illinois National Guard Joint Staff, in Room 160 of the Public Affairs Center. Fonseca’s remarks will begin at 10:30 a.m., followed by an outdoor flag ceremony at approximately 10:57 a.m. near the Public Affairs Center. The ceremony will include military bugle calls, the national anthem and the playing of taps by Sgt. 1st Class Sebastian Guerra, a trumpet player and bugler with the Illinois Army National Guard’s 144th Army Band.
Fonseca has served as director of the Illinois National Guard Joint Staff since May 2025, overseeing coordination, operational readiness and state and federal missions across the Illinois Army and Air National Guard. He began his military career in 1991 and has deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. His previous assignments include commanding U.S. Army Garrison Poland, where he was the Army’s first garrison commander on NATO’s eastern flank, and serving in senior leadership roles with the Defense Intelligence Agency. His military honors include the Bronze Star Medal, Legion of Merit and Defense Superior Service Medal.
Following the ceremony, attendees are invited to return to Room 160 for refreshments and conversation until 11:30 a.m.
Military and Veteran Student Resource Center Open House — Noon, Wednesday, Nov. 11
The Military and Veteran Student Resource Center will host an open house in University Hall, Room 1002. The event will feature refreshments, tours of the center and a celebration of the Marine Corps’ birthday, including a cake-cutting ceremony at 12:30 p.m.
