Diane Rasmussen, who lives in Omaha, can't make impromptu trips to Arlington, Virginia, where her son Deric is buried. Now, if she wants to feel close to him, she can visit Gold Star Hall in ISU's Memorial Union.
"Because Deric is buried in Arlington which is so far away, it's hard not to be there to visit his grave site. But having his name engraved in the limestone wall of the Gold Star Hall has meant so much to me, that I know that it is so close, that I can still go and visit. He's with me at all times but this just means more than you can imagine to see his name on a wall."
Deric was a student at Iowa State between 1999 and 2002. He died in Afghanistan last May and is being honored on Veterans Day along with four other ISU students who died in the theater of war.
On this Newsbuzz episode of River to River, Ben Kieffer talks with Rasmussen and with Kristin Erdman, the organizer of the ceremony, about the men being honored. The ceremony will take place in ISU's Memorial Union on Tuesday at 3:15 PM.
