ORONO, Maine — He may have died nine years ago, but his memory lives on in the hearts of his fellow soldiers and college acquaintances.
Friends of Maine Army National Guard Staff Sgt. David Veverka gathered Wednesday afternoon outside the University of Maine’s Nutting Hall to mark the ninth anniversary of his death while in service to his nation.
Veverka, 25, a University of Maine senior from Jamestown, Pennsylvania, and Staff Sgt. Dale Kelly Jr., 48, of Richmond were killed in an attack on May 6, 2006, in Iraq.
The soldiers were members of B Company, 3rd Battalion of the 172nd Infantry regiment based in Brewer. Veverka’s unit was deployed for security operations in Iraq.
Wednesday’s remembrance was the eighth annual ceremony held so far at the memorial tree, stone and bench installed outside Nutting Hall, which houses UMaine’s forestry and wildlife programs and was where Veverka studied.
“He was a multifaceted young man, and he had a lot of things going for him other than the military, so having this memorial here over at the university is very important because we get to see that side of David,” said Lt. Col. Darryl Lyon, who held the rank of captain and was commander of the Brewer unit in 2006 and who went to Augusta for a ceremony honoring Kelly earlier Wednesday.
Sgt. 1st Class Robert Clifford and Capt. Don LaChapelle, who served with Veverka, recalled him as a solid soldier who could be relied upon to do what needed to be done.
Veverka also was known for his love of wildlife, especially seals, his fellow soldiers and academic friends noted.
“When I first got to Iraq, I was coming out of the shower one night, and I always kept my rifle with me, so I had my rifle, and I see somebody in the bushes with a light,” Aaron Rollins, a retired sergeant who served with Veverka, recalled.
Rollins’ unit had just arrived in Iraq, where the conditions were “very hostile,” he said.
“I didn’t know what to make of it, so I said, ‘Hey! What are you doing?’” Rollins said.
It turned out to be Veverka, who was in the bushes looking to see if he could find scorpions and other critters in the bushes, Rollins said.
Wildlife ecology professor Daniel Harrison remembered the fallen soldier as a motivated student who motivated others.
“What impressed me about Dave is that he’d grab the rest of the students by the collar and drag them all up,” he said.
Part of Veverka’s legacy at UMaine is a scholarship that allows students to attend conferences and workshops that aren’t funded in the university’s budget, Harrison said.
While at UMaine, Veverka was president of the student chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology, vice president of The Wildlife Society’s student chapter, a National Science Foundation teaching fellow and a recipient of a College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture undergraduate research grant. The university awarded him a posthumous Bachelor of Science degree in wildlife ecology in 2006.