This past Monday, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney asked his players to raise their hands if they have someone in their family with a military background.

Half the room held their hand high.

It’s pretty easy for Swinney to get his players to understand the meaning of Military Appreciation Day at Clemson, which will be held this Saturday when the third-ranked Tigers host the Terriers at Memorial Stadium.

Clemson University actually celebrates the whole week as Military Appreciation Week. Each day is featured with at least one program or event designed to support, recognize or advocate for Clemson’s military community, culminating with the annual Military Appreciation Day football game.

“Our goal for Military Appreciation Week is to recognize the service and contributions of our military service members and veterans, increase our advocacy and awareness in supporting them, and to celebrate them through programming and events,” said Brennan Beck, director of Clemson’s Office of Military & Veteran Engagement, in a media release earlier this week. “No matter their relationship to the military, everyone is welcome and stands to gain from participating in this important week.”

Clemson was the first school to start Military Appreciation Day, which began in 1994. Clemson University has always been proud of its military heritage, dating back to its days as an all-male military school when it first opened its doors in 1893 and all the way through 1955.

“It does have a special connection and here on this campus it can be felt really with the way we treat our military, our veterans. It is special and that is the way it should be treated,” right tackle Tremayne Anchrum said.

Memorial Stadium, which opened its doors in 1942, was named such to honor those Clemson students and alumni that lost their lives in World War I.

“Clemson was a military school and a lot of times some of these (players) do not know that,” Swinney said. “Memorial Stadium, the Scroll of Honor. We just try to educate them a little bit about the history of Clemson.”

The Scroll of Honor opened in 2010 and is a memorial to the 484 Clemson service personnel killed while on military duty. It is located right across the street to Memorial Stadium on Williamson Road.

“I think we were second or third in students killed in action … this has been a very committed school for a long time from a military standpoint, so our heritage is deep,” Swinney said. “This is something that we take time out every year to educate our players.”

Clemson’s football team will honor the military by wearing its all-purple uniforms, something it has done every year since 2013 when war hero and Purple Heart recipient Daniel Rodriguez was on the team. Clemson first wore the all-purple uniforms on Military Appreciation Day in the 2007 game against Virginia Tech, but it did not stick as the permanent Military Appreciation Day uniform until Rodriguez’s time with the Tigers.

“It is important. These are the people that are fighting for our country. Those guys are the real heroes,” Anchrum said. “They make the big sacrifices. Their families make the sacrifices. We are all indebted to them. You know, everybody. So, it is a special day and we want to give thanks and show our appreciation.”

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