Bearing Witness: Veterans, Memory, & the Meaning of Service: The Importance of Remembering
In observance of Veterans Day, the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum will host a free community day on November 8, featuring free admission and activities including gallery talks and film screenings in the Museum’s Cinemark Theater.
As part of the day’s programming, VR Small will moderate a conversation with North Texas veterans Tom Starr and Chaplain Richmond E. Stoglin.
Visitors are encouraged to reserve tickets online in advance. Walk-ins will be accommodated based on availability.
About the Conversation
The goal of the panel is to reflect on the importance of remembering the past and preserving the stories of those who served. Panelists will discuss why bearing witness is essential to honoring sacrifice, combating historical amnesia, and educating future generations.
Lastly, the panelists will explore how military service has shaped their understanding of democracy, patriotism, and their enduring responsibility to protect the values they pledged to defend.
Small, a Navy Veteran, educator, and experienced moderator, brings a shared connection to military service and a commitment to facilitating meaningful conversations across experiences and generations. She will guide the discussion as Starr and Stoglin share their perspectives on service, memory, sacrifice, and the responsibility to preserve these stories for future generations.
VR Small, Thought Leaders
Founder/ CEO, Veteran Women’s Enterprise Center (VWEC)
Tom Starr serves as an Honor Guide and Docent at the National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Texas. He is a Vietnam Veteran and was the recipient of a Bronze Star Medal and the Joint Service Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster among other awards.
Starr is the author of They Never Heard the Final Shot, a dissertation regarding the Vietnam War. He served as the Executive Director of four college football post-season football games and was named College Football Bowl Executive of the Year twice. He was presented with the College Football Bowl Association Legacy Award in 2023. The Armed Forces Bowl Most Valuable Player Trophy is named in his honor.
A graduate of the University of Iowa, Starr holds a master’s degree from Iowa State University. He is also a graduate of the ESPN School of Business and the U.S. Army Adjutant General School.
Chaplain Richmond E. Stoglin served his country in the United States Navy Reserve Chaplain Corps from 1985 to 2013. His final position was department head of religious services at the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth.
He has attained the rank of Commander and was former Regimental Chaplain to the 14th Marines, the largest artillery command in the US Marine Corps. and Chaplain Stoglin also served as the Command Chaplain of the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan and the Combined Security Training Command-Afghanistan, which consisted of US Troops and Coalition Troops from 38 nations.
He currently serves as president of the Stoglin Group, which specializes in consulting organizations on workplace ethics, strategic planning, leadership development, public policy, and law enforcement counseling.
Chaplain Stoglin also works as the director of community engagement for the Anglican Diocese of Fort Worth.
Veterans Day at the Museum
Visitors are encouraged to reserve tickets online in advance. Walk-ins will be accommodated based on availability.
Free admission and programming are made possible through the support of Amazon.
