MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2016 STUDENT MEDIA | @THEBATTONLINE
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A QUARTER CENTURY OF CHILIFEST Photos on Page 4
Brian Okosun — THE BATTALION
Ethan Dias — THE BATTALION
MILITARY
Family members arrange mementos of Aggies honored in Muster Roll Call.
PROVIDED
Veteran Ken Meyer, along with his service dog, tries to spread awareness of PTSD.
Vet to walk 628 miles for PTSD
College Station marks pitstop in Air Force Vet’s journey around Texas
MONUMENT TO MEMORIES
By Katie Fuller The road to recovery is long for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, and one veteran, is walking 628 miles around Texas to prove that. Texas A&M’s chapter of Lone Survivor — the only collegiate chapter of the Lone Survivor foundation, will welcome Ken Meyer, an Air Force veteran during his College Station pitsop Monday. Ken said he hopes this walk will encourage conversation about “PTS,” as he refers to PTSD. “I leave the ‘D’ off when I talk about post-traumatic stress. When you say ‘disorder,’ that ‘D’ is an automatic stigma,” Ken said. “It keeps people open to what I am talking about, and it is a way for me to talk about a mental health issue.” Ken said he was inspired to walk 628 miles by Operation Red Wings — a military operation in Afghanistan that resulted in 19 deaths and inspired the film “Lone Survivor.” He will alternate between walking 19 miles per day and 22 miles per day. Nineteen in honor of the 19 servicemen who gave their lives during Operation Red Wings and 22 for the estimated 22 U.S. veterans who commit suicide per day — a statistic that comes from a study released in 2013 by the Department of Veterans Affairs and covers suicides from 1999 to 2010. “There is a pair of boots I have that — if anybody has post-traumatic stress or lost anyone to post-traumatic stress — I will write their names on the boots, so it is like I will walk in their shoes and have them with me,” Ken said. “My boots are pretty much covered in names.” Judi Meyer, Ken’s wife said they are hoping that this walk will allow people to feel comfortable talking about post-traumatic stress. “Mental illness in general, people just don’t talk about it,” Judi said. “So people don’t try to reach out and get help like they would if someone had cancer or a broken leg.” Ken started his walk Saturday and will end it in Galveston 628 miles later. He is traveling with his service dog and others involved in the Lone Star Foundation. Ken will speak at the Fox and Hound Pub at 1 p.m. the Tuesday before moving on. “Having been in the dark side of post-traumatic stress, I want to raise awareness and educate people about post-traumatic stress and what those symptoms are,” Ken said. “It doesn’t discriminate. We look at it as a military issue, but it can affect anybody that is involved with a traumatic event.”
Muster Reflections Display offers glimpse into the lives of the honored By Gracie Mock
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tudents and visitors will have a chance to glimpse into the lives behind the Muster Roll Call this week as the 2016 Muster Reflections Display transforms the MSC Flag Room into a living memorial for those honored at Thursday’s ceremony. The Reflections Display is set up every year the week of Muster to attach stories to the names read on the Roll Call for the Ab-
sent. Families of those honored are invited to set up a display with objects and photographs meant to give viewers an intimate look at who their deceased loved one were. Around 80 families have chosen this year to set up a display. “It’s a way to put faces to names that we’re going to be calling on Roll Call, and so it’s a way that we get to see who these people were and why they’re so loved and so missed and why they’re people that we want to honor and continue their legacy as members of their specific family and the Aggie family,” said Lauren Evans, reflections dis-
REFLECTIONS ON PG. 2
BASEBALL
Aggies reclaim SEC road record A&M ofense stays hot in Mississippi State sweep By Andre Perrard
Valerie Gunchick — THE BATTALION
Senior outfielder J.B. Moss went 3-for-5 with two RBI on Sunday.
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play coordinator and marketing sophomore. Hannah Bezet, reflections display coordinator with Muster Committee and human resource development junior, said the objects brought by the families portray who they were, what they loved and what they were dedicated to during their life. “It’s really special that students get to go through and get a look into these Aggies’ lives,” Bezet said. Bryan Tutt’s father — Fehrlin Tutt, Class of 1955 — will be one of the many Aggies honored at the 2016 Campus Muster.
No. 3 A&M finished a sweep of Mississippi State with a 10-5 win on Sunday. Friday night opened a series of closely contested games. A&M led 4-3 heading into the ninth inning. Then the offense managed six runs, headlined by a grand slam from Nick Banks, and the Aggies ran away with a 10-3 win in game one. The game was close late once again Saturday evening. Nursing another one-run lead in the eighth, the Aggie bats opened up the game once again. The Aggies tallied three in the eighth frame thanks to RBI from Hunter Melton and Ryne Birk to clinch a 10-6 win and the series. The two top-10 teams went back and forth Sunday. A&M (29-8, 10-5 SEC) got the bats rolling early in the contest. J.B. Moss slapped a two-run single in the second inning to give the Aggies a 2-0 lead. The Bulldogs would cut the lead to 2-1 the next inning with a passed ball that added an unearned
run to Aggie starter Kyle Simonds’ line. Boomer White kept his hot streak up with an RBI single to extend the Aggie lead to 3-1 in the fourth. An inning later, a error by the Bulldogs put two runners on for Nick Choruby, who roped an RBI single to make it 4-1. Simonds was pulled in the fifth after tossing four innings, allowing one unearned run on four hits; Ryan Hendrix entered the game and quelled one Bulldogs threat. However, the wheels came off for him in the seventh inning. Mississippi State (24-12-1, 8-7 SEC) showed its resiliency with a four-run seventh inning. Gavin Collins pulled a two run homer to make it a 4-3 game. After another single, Brent Rooker roped a two-out RBI triple down the right field line to tie the game 4-4. Hendrix was pulled and allowed four runs on four hits in the inning. The Bulldogs weren’t done yet, though, as Elih Marrero smacked an RBI double to give the Bulldogs the lead at 5-4. But just as they had all weekend, the Aggies bats saved their loudest BASEBALL ON PG. 3
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