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Be worth the trip.

They’re four words that resonate to this day with retired U.S. Navy Capt. Paul “Puck” Esposito — a 30-year veteran and aviator who serves as the director of Auburn’s Veterans Resource Center — the subject of the latest Everything Auburn podcast. The words were given so many years ago to Esposito by his former drill instructor who served in the Vietnam War.

Today, as the nation again recognizes Memorial Day, those words guide Esposito on his path to do all he can to support veterans at Auburn. And the phrase leads to these questions that Esposito asks himself daily: “Have I been worth the trip? Am I living my life doing things that make that sacrifice worthwhile?”

Being worth the trip at Auburn is lived out daily through the Auburn University Veterans Resource Center — which is committed to providing valuable resources, advocacy and outreach to Auburn’s military community. With this “Everything Veteran Support” segment of the Everything Auburn podcast, we’re focused on the center’s mission, and our discussion gets to the heart of it all as we ask about the personal journeys of Esposito and Jeff Dyal — who is the campus and community events coordinator for the center (also a retired major with the U.S. Marine Corps who spent 25 years in service to our country). Esposito and Dyal talk about the importance of Memorial Day, the upcoming 80th anniversary of D-Day and all that Auburn’s Veterans Resource Center has to offer, including a special Memorial Day ceremony that will take place at 11:30 a.m. CT on Friday, May 24, on Auburn’s Cater Lawn.

Listen to the podcast now online or via the Apple podcast app or on iHeart or Spotify.