Today, Americans will pause to honor and celebrate veterans, even as they worry about the men and women serving overseas.

Military organizations at Penn State will hold a ceremony at noon today on Old Main steps.

Meanwhile, the local Veterans of Foreign Wars, 139 N. Barnard St., will treat its members to a meal in honor of their past service, said Cmdr. George Zonge.

"It's a day that we all pause what we're doing -- whether in peacetime or in war -- to remember those who came before us," said Maj. Rob Griggs (graduate-educational leadership), an Army officer assigned to the University Park campus.

The ceremony will not forget the troops that are still fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, Griggs said.

"Most of us just came from over there and many will go back, so there is always that concern for those still there," he said.

Chris Yanik (junior-nutrition sciences), an off-duty Army Ranger, said he will either go to the ceremony at Old Main or return home to speak to his younger brother's middle school class about his experiences.

"Our main job was to take over air fields," he said. "We were capturing the Taliban and all those guys."

Because Yanik was in Special Operations, his deployments were short -- only about three months each.

Many soldiers in the Middle East have faced much longer deployments.

Kaye Keith, administrative assistant in the Office of the Registrar, said Penn State does not have the technological capabilities to count students returning from military leaves of absence.

Therefore, university officials do not know exactly how many students are currently serving in the military overseas.

She did say, however, that the number of students taking military leaves would probably be lower this year than last year.

"Spring of 2003 is when we invaded Iraq so we had 205 military leaves that spring," she said.

There were 43 military withdrawals this past spring, she said. There were 14 in the summer and, so far, 49 in the fall.

"Now we are nearing the end of the semester, but I've heard there might be another call up," she said. Keith said she thinks the number will surpass the 54 student withdrawals from last fall.

"We're hoping that the military activation in Iraq will be short-lived," she said, "but it is already longer, I think, than we expected."

Yanik, like many veterans, still keeps in touch with his military friends and values the time he spent serving overseas.

"I joined to serve the country and get some direction in my life. I also wanted some fun and excitement. It did help pay for school, but that's not the reason why I joined -- just a bonus," he said, adding that his time overseas helped him appreciate America and its opportunities.