Campus Quiz: USS Indiana twin gun turrets honor Indiana's soldiers

The mast of the USS Indiana stands on the west side of Memorial Stadium, centered between two 40 mm anti-aircraft guns of the variety that once graced its deck. Decommissioned in 1947 after five years of service in World War II, the remnants of the ship now serve to honor the "sons and daughters of the state of Indiana who have so gallantly served in the armed forces of our nation," according to its plaque. \nOn May 14, 1966, then-IU president Elvis J. Stahr spoke prior to the annual Cream and Crimson football game to dedicate the memorial. The text of that speech follows:\n"This is a proud moment for Indiana University as the colors are raised on the mast of the USS Indiana for the first time since that great battleship was decommissioned on September 11, 1947. We will formally dedicate the mast at brief ceremonies between halves of the traditional Cream and Crimson game you are about to witness. Here, under the colors, it is fitting we pledge anew our allegiance to the great principles upon which our Country was founded and to the perpetuation of which Indiana University is unswervingly devoted.\n"The United States Navy has entrusted this symbolic relic of the Battleship Indiana to Indiana's oldest and largest state university. We in turn installed it on a spot where not only hundreds of thousands of students but also hundreds of thousands of visitors to the stadium throughout the years would be reminded of the sons and daughters of Indiana who have served the nation with honor in our armed forces. It reminds as well that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, that those who have served in their Country's uniform and under her flag in far-flung places on land and sea and in the air have helped ensure that government of, by and for the people shall not perish. They have preserved the opportunity for us to continue the never-ending work of making our society what its founders knew it could be and dreamed it should be: a land of freedom, of an open society; a place where each individual might have an opportunity to develop and realize the best that is in him -- might not be unjustly oppressed or repressed by any government or by any man or group of men.\n"Let no one mistake our purposes, let no one doubt our resolve so long as these colors shall fly overhead.\n"Gentlemen, we thank you for dignifying this occasion with your presence."\nVisit www.idsnews.com to view copies of the actual note cards Stahr used for his speech, as well as more remarks from the dedication.