MISSOULA - While the Griz were not on the turf Friday, Griz alumni veterans were.
Ahead of this weekend’s Veterans Appreciation Game, the spotlight was on former Griz who also served our country.
More than 50 Griz alumni veterans gathered on the field at Washington-Grizzly Stadium for a special tribute, including a ceremonial raising of the Purple Heart flag honoring their bravery and sacrifice.
It’s one of several events this week recognizing service members, all leading up to Saturday’s game, which is dedicated to honoring our nation’s veterans.
Griz alum, Jorge Reyes, UM Class of 1995, civil affairs, Joseph Hodgson, UM Class of 1994, U.S. Army Aviation, and Jeffrey Perrault, UM Class of 1996, U.S. Army Infantry, say this is an honor to be recognized.
"Our freedom isn’t free so it is great to recognize those," Perrault said, "and we have a common bond we’re all cut from the same cloth and that is important and to see these guys and girls that have served together, luckily we all made it back from down range safely and Montana’s done a great job of supporting that."
Events for Saturday’s game will kick off at 9:00 a.m., starting with the landing of the Blackhawk helicopter on the Oval.
