Campion Jesuit High School - Knight Yearbook (Prairie du Chien, WI)

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From 1919 to 1939 Cantpion ROTC boasts colorful record of accornplishtnents . .i. ■ ■■■ ■ ■ ' f II I! ir Hi nli sf II II I! li It {{ ii ii ii 11 I! !1 !1 Lawler, Kostka, Campion Halls In 1919. Back in 1919 when Campion was both a college and high school and the campus showed a yawning gap between Campion and Marquette Halls, Cam- pion became one of the first schools in the nation to offer military training. Realizing its value from watching the 231 student inductees of the short- lived SATC (Student Army Training Corps) among the college students the fall of 1918, far-seeing Fr. Albert Fox, S.J., president, petitioned the Army to establish a Reserve Officers Training Corps. The Corps was organized Nov. 1, 1918, into a senior section for college men and a junior section for high school students, and held its first official drill Tuesday, Jan. 28, 1919. Those hardy pioneers drilled for an hour Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday after- noons plus two 45-minute military instruction per- iods weekly. Thus was born ROTC at Campion. The history of ROTC at Campion is one of pro- gress and accomplishment. The first cadets drilled in olive drab uniforms with leather leggings and campaign hats, shouldering British Enfield riflles. In 1924 cadet officers sported sabers and Sam Brown belts. Six years later the Springfield Ml 903 rifie was introduced. In 1934 new uniforms of slacks and blouses with blue lapels became GI. Then in 1949 the Ml Garand rifle and in 1950 the Eisenhower jacket brought elegance and modernity tO) the bat- talion. Federal inspection beginning in May, 1925, and the fabulous Military Ball in 1950 have become the traditional annual highlights of the military department. The accomplishments of the past forty years, both of the corps and of individuals, have been spec- tacular. Beginning with 1929, the Battalion has

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Buglers at attention, gold trumpets glis- tening in the early morning sun, clear crisp notes fading into the morning stillness, the Stars and Stripes fluttering gently, 500 hands snap- ping to salute, 500 cadets pledging again their patriotism to America — thus does reveille re- the 40-year old spirit of military at Cam- on a Monday morning at 6 :55. For Monday ROTC drill day. After reveille the cadets march in ranks to Mass, continue wearing their uniforms during morning classes and assemble with their 9.5 pound Ml Rifle at 12:40 on the drill field. For two hours cadet oflficers bark such commands as column left, march or right shoulder, arms as squads, platoons, and even companies drill. Climax of each drill period is the impressive Retreat Parade when to the martial music of the ROTC marching band the entire battalion passes in review. During the week in two class periods students learn map reading, military tactics, weapon assemblage, exercise of command, etc. All cadets must year- ly pass marksmanship tests firing from the four basic positions of prone, sitting, kneeling, and standing. For the more talented, the select drill and rifle teams give precision demonstrations on special occasions and compete with other schools. Nor is military all drill — the gala pre- Lent Military Ball with dates from home and in the colorfully decorated dining hall is the big social event of the year.

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Progenitor of Monday p.m. band practices. Early Thirties — goon platoon or drill tour? won honor ratings and the right to wear the red star every year except one. The drill team took 2nd and 1st in 1936 and 1938 in the state ROA drill competition. The rifle team won 1st in 1931 and 2nd place in 1936 in the 6th Corps (now the 5th Army) matches and 12th in 1936, 8th in 1938 and 1940, and a sparkling 3rd in 1953 in the William R. Hearst Matches in competition with all ROTC high schools in the country. The ROTC marching band won 1st in the 1936 district competition, played over a coast-to-coast broadcast from Villa Louis in 1942, and took 1st in the Wisconsin School of Music in 1952. The record of Campion ROTC men in the ser- vice of their country is a glorious one. They merited 156 special American decorations: 1 Distinguished Service Cross, 11 Silver Stars, 3 Legions of Merit, 17 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 3 Soldiers Medals, 38 Bronze Stars, 38 Air Medals, 5 Army Commenda- tion Ribbons, 30 Purple Hearts; and 10 special foreign decorations. Brig. Gen. John P. Henebry, class of 1936, the youngest ever to become a gen- eral, merited the Distinguished Service Cross (sec- ond highest military award given), as well as the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Air Medal. The late Col. Gregory J. Kessinich ' 14, invented the bazooka, a portable rocket launcher which is used for knocking out tanks, and for 30 years was chief of the patent section of Army Ordnance in Washington. Campion especially cherishes the memory of 65 of her sons who died in service for their country, and in partic- ular, the first chaplain to die in World War 11, Lt. Aloysius Schmitt, ' 28, at Pearl Harbor.