A memorial dedication service for the U.S. Army Captain Joseph Kerr Bush Jr., Class of 1966, was held at Saturday outside of Sanders Corps Center.
 

The ceremony dedicated a bench outside of the center to Bush Jr., who gave his life in Laos during the Vietnam conflict and was posthumously awarded the Silver Star. The memorial service was organized by five of his friends from the Class of 1966.
 

Jerry Lynn Lummus and Joe Ely, Class of 1966, and organizers of the ceremony for Joseph Bush Jr, said Bush Jr. was deserving of a memorial dedication service on the campus he loved.  
 

“Joe was a leader, he was a recognized leader at Texas A&M, he had an exemplary U.S. military career as brief as it was,” Lummus said, “He gave his life for this country. We all honored that and we wanted to do it publicly.”

Ely, who was a fellow member of the A1 division in the Corps of Cadets while at Texas A&M said Bush Jr. represented the Aggie spirit.
 

“He’s a good example to every Aggie, he was Aggie to the core. He was our friend and our classmate,” Ely said.

Bush Jr.’s daughter, Robin Bush Sproba, Class of 1990, was present for the ceremony.
 

“I hope students realize that sometimes you have to put something ahead of yourself,” Spobra said. “You have to put service before self, country before self. I hope when they walk by they realize that somebody sacrificed — paid the ultimate price.”

Sproba said her father left when she was only a week old, but that she came to learn more about what kind of person Bush Jr. was by the poems he left behind.  Several of his works were on display at the service, including “Grey Skies,” which was written during his sophomore year.

“He left when I was a week old and he never came back … The only way that I can know my father is through his classmates from the class of ’66, and through other Aggies, and through stories like this” said Robin Bush Sproba, “that’s how I’ve developed a relationship with him.”
 

Senior Yell Leader Patrick McGinty attended the memorial service and said Bush Jr. exemplified the A&M Core values.

“It’s one thing to say we have these core values honor integrity selfless service … but it’s important, once we leave, to practice those values, live them out, and never be afraid to step up,” McGinty said.