For now, Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity will continue the memorial bell ringing services for deceased students as well as services that reflect tragic losses such as Sept. 11. However, rather than tolling the bell 21 times (signifying a 21-gun naval salute), the bell will ring 12 times in concert with the noon chimes at Woodburn Hall, APO leaders say.
The group met recently with representatives of VFW Post 548 as well as officials from the Office of Student Life and the Office of Ceremonies and Events to exchange information on the bells arrival on campus, its history, and the policy and procedure surrounding the use of the bell.
The change in the number of tolls was something APO students decided to do out of respect for some local veterans who claim that a 21-gun salute is reserved for military ceremonies, says Gretchen Russell of APO . The group hopes to get further clarification soon from U.S. Navy officials on the tradition.
The bell is from the Armored Cruiser USS West Virginia and was released in 1967 by the U.S. Navy to WVU s Lambda Omicron Chapter of APO . At the time, the Navy requested that the bell be placed close to the mast of the Battleship USS West Virginia, which was located in front of Oglebay Hall. It was dedicated at this outdoor site on Dec. 7, 1967, Pearl Harbor Day.
APO has organized activities at the bell since that time and has a policy in place regarding the student memorial service tradition.
“APO is essentially in charge of the care and maintenance of the bell, including a replica clapper,”Russell says.”We also keep a history of the events and activities held therea sort of scrapbook or documentation of press clippings and other materials.”
Russell said the original clapper was retired and is now in the hands of the West Virginia and Regional History Collection at the WVU Libraries.
The next bell ringing ceremony is set for noon Friday, March 8, on Oglebay Plaza to honor the passing of 20-year-old Jeffrey Satterfield, a sophomore civil engineering major from Morgantown who died Wednesday, Feb. 27.
