BATON ROUGE — LSU held a Memorial Day service Thursday for veterans — including former students, faculty and staff — who died in service of their country.

The ceremony was held at noon on the Parade Ground at the LSU War Memorial. The public "Ceremony in Silence" observance will include a wreath-laying ceremony and "Taps," the traditional military bugle march. LSU's memorial service is being held on the traditional date for Memorial Day — May 30 — when the holiday was first held in 1868. 

"It's very important because a lot of people today don't realize, that haven't served in the military, fewer people do. Thank God we haven't had big losses of people in recent years who have served in uniform, so people lose touch with that. They don't really, young people in particular. We have to do this to remind them there have been a lot of Americans who gave their lives in combat for a long long time to see this country to where it is today," Henson Moore, an LSU military alumni, said.

The ceremony was followed by a Dutch-treat luncheon at the LSU Union, with veterans, family members and friends of area veterans, and state, local and university officials attending. Retired Maj. Gen. Hunt B. Downer, who previously served as Speaker of the House for the State of Louisiana, was the luncheon's keynote speaker.

The ceremony and the luncheon were co-sponsored by LSU and Cadets of the Ole War Skule.