3. ”Still Paying That Sacrifice” | The 2024 UCF VLP Podcast Series

In Episode Three, Sergeant Major (Sgt Maj) Ray Fullard recounts his experience taking his JROTC cadets to Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida. Throughout the school year, Sgt. Maj tasked his JROTC cadets to research and write a biography of a Veteran interred at Bushnell who served during the Gulf War (1990-91), Operation Enduring Freedom (2001-2014), and Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003-2011). Sgt Major is a Marine Corps Veteran from those same conflicts, meaning he served—directly or indirectly—with many of the Veterans the cadets researched and visited during their trip to Bushnell. Such personal insights—and Sgt. Maj’s experience with UCF VLP last year—allows us to better understand how the deliverables and outcomes of UCF VLP ultimately materialize and why this work of honoring and memorializing Veterans' legacies proves paramount and necessary.

For those interested, Sgt. Maj Fullard was featured in Episode Five of The 2023 UCF VLP Institute Podcast Series.

This episode was directed, produced, written, edited, and hosted by Sebastian Garcia and featured Sgt. Maj Ray Fullard.

Executive Producers: Sebastian Garcia and Dr. Amelia Lyons.

Music: “Honor and Glory” and “Real Heroes” by SergePavkinMusic (Pixabay)

Podcast Cover Artwork: Sebastian Garcia

The 2024 UCF VLP Podcast Series is brought to you by the UCF History Department and UCF’s Veterans Legacy Program—a partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Cemetery Administration.