CARBONDALE — Veterans Day is being observed on Friday this year, where local, state, and federal government offices will be closed in honor of veterans who served in our armed forces.

A Centralia native and Air Force veteran Lt. Col. Harvey Welch, will be honored during a Veterans Day program at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.

At 11 a.m., members will hold a wreath-laying ceremony at the flagpole and will unveil a shadowbox posthumously honoring Welch who was an SIU alumnus and member of Air Force ROTC Detachment 205.

Welch was the first Black player on the Saluki basketball team in 1951 and SIU’s first Black Air Force ROTC graduate.

After 20 years of service in the Air Force, Welch returned to his alma mater for a second career as an SIU dean and vice chancellor for student affairs, retiring in 1999.

SIU Carbondale will publicly commemorate Veterans Day with the annual vigil at the flagpole near the center of campus. This event marks the 42nd anniversary of the flagpole vigil, which began in 1981.

It honors SIU and Southern Illinois veterans who served their country in the U.S. armed forces.