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HWS News

15 November 2024 • Alums Veterans Day Video & Book

President Mark D. Gearan and three students created a special video message for the HWS community in honor of Veterans Day.

More than 600 Hobart and William Smith alumni have served in the U.S. Military. This Veterans Day, President Mark D. Gearan and three students created a video message to thank HWS veterans for their service.

Participants Abigail Britton-Lowden ’25 and Will Jones ’26 plan to serve in the U.S. Military after graduation. Jones is part of the platoon leaders class for the Marine Corps, actively training towards earning a commission as an officer.

Britton-Lowden is a double major in biology and public health. Jones is a politics major.

Giorgi Bekauri ’25, a U.S. Navy veteran, joined the video from Tbilisi, Georgia, where he is currently studying abroad. Bekauri is majoring in international relations.


Watch the video here.

To learn more about HWS’ military legacy, read Hobart and William Smith Colleges’ Legacy of Military Service.

The book was co-written and published two years ago, in honor of the Hobart Bicentennial, by Col. C.R. “Dick” Anderegg ’67 and Lt. Col. John Norvell ’66, P’99. Lt. Gen. Jack Woodward ’68 and Col. Katherine Platoni ’74 contributed the book’s foreword and afterword.

Read HWS' Legacy of Military Service here.

The book's first half narrates the history of HWS and profiles those who served, some of whom died in service, from the Civil War until today. It also contains first-person narratives of several alums who served in unusual and often trying circumstances. The book's second half presents 117 profiles of alums who have served and those still serving across the globe.

HWS’ longstanding connection to the U.S. Armed Forces dates back to Hobart’s founding in 1822, with early trustees who were veterans of the American Revolutionary and the War of 1812, and students who served soon after.

The book is now part of the Warren Hunting Smith Library’s holdings. If you want to purchase a copy, contact the Office of Alumni and Alumnae Relations at alumrelations@hws.edu.