On Veterans Day, Nov. 11, the University of Lynchburg honored local veterans and celebrated two of its alumni with a luncheon and the dedication of the Dr. John D. Bower Veterans Lounge and Advocacy Center. The new center replaces a veterans lounge named for Bower that was previously located in Drysdale Student Center.
U.S. Army veteran Aaron Martin was the keynote speaker at the annual luncheon, which was held in Drysdale Student Center’s West Room. Martin, a counterterrorism, law enforcement, and security expert, served in the military for 22 years, retiring in 2011 as a first sergeant.
His service included combat deployments in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom and humanitarian operations in the former Republic of Yugoslavia and the Asian Pacific. He is currently a veteran education program specialist with the Virginia Department of Veterans Services.
After the luncheon, those in attendance walked to the first floor of nearby Hall Campus Center for a ribbon cutting at the new Dr. John D. Bower Veterans Lounge and Advocacy Center. The center is named for the late Dr. John Bower ’57, a U.S. Navy veteran who enrolled at what was then Lynchburg College following his military service.
Bower finished a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry in just two and a half years and then earned a medical degree at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. Renowned for his pioneering work in renal health and dialysis, he founded the John D. Bower School of Population Health at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in 2016. He died in 2023.
In 2010, Bower donated $250,000 to Lynchburg College to establish the Dr. John D. Bower Veterans Scholarship Fund. He also issued a challenge: If donors matched his gift, he’d contribute an additional $250,000 for the creation of a veterans center at Lynchburg.
A group known as the “Bower Flag Bearers” reached this goal in 2011, raising funds to provide scholarship and programmatic support for veterans.
During the dedication ceremony, another veteran and Lynchburg College alumnus, Harry L. Gray ’57, was honored with a plaque that is displayed in the Dr. John D. Bower Veterans Lounge and Advocacy Center.
Gray, who died in 2026, was a U.S. Army first sergeant during the Korean War, serving in the 555th Field Artillery Battalion from 1952 to 1953. He was awarded the Korean Service Medal with three bronze stars, the United Nations Service Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal.
After his military service, he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and economics at Lynchburg and had a long career in the public and private sector. He retired as regional director of the Virginia Department of Social Services in 1999.
Gray also volunteered for 26 years at the Centra Cardio-Pulmonary Rehab Center of Lynchburg, was a member of the 5th Infantry Regiment Association, the American Legion Post 16, Disabled American Veterans, the Exchange Club of Lynchburg, and Heritage Baptist Church.
In December 2025, he donated $200,000 to The Lynchburg Fund, a fund that supports the University’s most urgent needs. Gray’s wife and family members were in attendance for the dedication.
