Author: khowell (Page 1 of 3)

VA Secretary Shulkin Speaks at HLS

November 13, 2017 / khowell

On November 2, 2017, Dr. David Shulkin, the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, delivered the 2017 DAV Distinguished Speaker Lecture at Harvard Law School. Former National Commander of DAV Alan Bowers, a disabled combat veteran of the Vietnam War, provided introductory remarks. The event was co-hosted by the Veterans Legal Clinic and AFA.

After the lecture, Secretary Shulkin had lunch with community leaders to discuss critical issues in the veterans community, and he later traveled to Jamaica Plain to visit the Veterans Legal Clinic.

For the full article, please visit the Legal Services Center’s website. The Harvard Law Today and the Harvard Gazette also reported on the event.

Credit: Jeffrey Blackwell/Memorial Church Communications

Harvard Dedicates Four Chaplains Plaque at Memorial Church

November 13, 2017 / khowell

On November 11, Veterans Day, a plaque was dedicated to Harvard’s Four Chaplains who met at Harvard’s Army Chaplains School in 1942. The Four Chaplains reunited on the U.S.A.T. Dorchester in route to Greenland when the ship was torpedoed by an enemy u-boat. They gave up their own life vests to save others and died together, singing hymns. The morning’s keynote speaker, Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff, a retired Navy chaplain, reflected on the chaplains’ legacy and their lessons for the modern day:

“The fact that they worked side by side broke down walls, shattered ceilings,” he said. “Today there might also be a Hindu or a Muslim or a Buddhist chaplain. There may be a woman or a black chaplain side by side. We have to remember today that we are recognizing all chaplains, all races, all genders.”

Harvard’s Memorial Church was dedicated 85 years ago to Harvard’s faculty, students, and alumni who perished in World War I. Read the full article in the Harvard Gazette here.

Harvard Law Today Profiles Four Incoming Veterans

November 9, 2017 / khowell

Harvard Law Today and the Harvard Gazette profiled three veterans in the Class of 2020 — Isabel Marin, Nate Jester, and Steve Kerns — as well as Jenna Reed, an LL.M. student currently serving as an officer in the Marine Corps. The profiles share the types of unique experiences and insights that our members bring to the student body, and the article emphasizes the growing size of our community.

AFA is proud of Isabel, Nate, Steven, Jenna and all of our other members, and we’re thankful that articles like these remind folks that we’re here, we’ve done good, and we’re doing well.

Read their profiles here!

Credit: Heratch Photography

Annual Veterans Day Dinner with the Dean of the Law School

November 9, 2017 / khowell

Thirty five of AFA’s members who are either veterans or are still serving gathered at Henrietta’s Table to celebrate Veterans Day. The Dean of Harvard Law School John Manning and Dean of Students Marcia Sells hosted the dinner, which is organized annually by the Dean of Students Office. Dean Manning thanked the attendees for their service and spoke about the importance of Harvard Law’s veteran community. Throughout the night, students got up to share “So there I was…” stories about their funniest, most memorable moments in the military. To the cap off the dinner, AFA’s leadership thanked Dean Manning and Dean Sells for their support and presented them with AFA’s challenge coin.

Photo Credit: Heratch Photography, Harvard Law Today

Sarah Grant, USMC Officer, Featured in Lawfare

November 5, 2017 / khowell

Several of AFA’s members contribute to Lawfare, the popular blog focusing on national security issues founded by Robert Chesney, Benjamin Wittes, and Harvard Law professor Jack Goldsmith. Sarah Grant, an AFA member and USMC Intelligence Officer, writes prolifically for the site and has covered court proceedings related to the restrictions on transgender servicemembers, negotiations over waterways in South East Asia, the recent executive order allowing the Pentagon to recall retired servicemembers, and more.

The views expressed in Sarah’s posts are her personal views and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Defense, the United States Marine Corps, any other department or agency of the United States Government, Harvard Law School, or the Armed Forces Association. But AFA is still proud of her commitment to legal writing and research.