Massanutten Military Academy - Adjutant Yearbook (Woodstock, VA)

Page 31 text:

HX:-,-1 ,L 1F 'U I! 2.1 H, n ,f- E' tx .5 ., 'Stiff' .N'n1f1111'f11g Rfwfffr Q

Page 30 text:

UY Tear 0 'dwlifmyf 6 af Jlfassanuffen HH academic year just passed was a memor- able one in the activities of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps at Massanutten, for the beginning of the school year saw not only the first days of the European war and its resultant intensification in military training but also the arrival of a new Professor of Military Science and Tactics, the in- troduction ofa brand new drill system to take the place of one with which we were familiar, and, finally, the introduction of two entirely new text R. U. T. C. S'l'Al l fluff lu righll: Capt. Cecil M. Newcorn, Major VV. T. Brumlick, Major li. VV. Grimmer, l,ieut. W. M. Riellcy, Sergeant Richardson. books, which were as unfamiliar to most of us as the drill manual. However, there was some com- pensation in finding the new 16 mm. sound movie projector and the delineascope the War Depart- ment had furnished to augment instruction facilities. lt was with regret that the oldtimers saw the departure of Captain Russell Nelson who had been in charge of the R. O. T. C. for the preceding four years. His position was taken by Major lid- win W. Grimmer who came to us from border troop duty in Arizona. However, the presence of Sergeant liarl M. Richardson, who joined us in the fall of 1937, as assistant to the P. M. S. 81 T., and who was here to greet those of us who returned, together with the presence of lst l,t. VVillard M. Reiley, ll. S. Army Reserve, who assisted with the R. U. T. C. instruction, and Captain Cecil M. New- corn, who again had charge of the R. O. T. C. Band, served to temper the unfamiliarity of the situation. Then, too, Major Guy A. Benchoff, our Commandant of Cadets, again greeted the return- ing cadets as proctor and disciplinarian for the Cadet Corps of the Academy. Intensive instruction in the new drill manual was begun on September 15th, the day after school commenced, and a temporary organization was effected headed by the non-commissioned officers of last year. The organization was that ofa Bat- talion, consisting of three rifie companies, a Bat- talion Headquarters Staff, and a Band. Un Octo- ber 5th, less than three weeks after the beginning of school, we put on a retreat parade in honor of the 3rd Corps Area Chaplains Convention, to which our Chaplain, Rev. YV. T. Brundiclc, was host. Reverend Brundick is a Major in the Regu- lar Army Reserve and is Chaplain of the 79th Division. The parade was complimented very highly by both regular army and reserve chaplains. In fact, the Assistant Chief of Chaplains from the War Department expressed his amazement that such an excellent showing could be made in such a short time, considering the entirely new drill. The very simplification of the drill and manual of arms, however, was largely responsible for their rapid assimilation. Due to the rapid progress of both the Band and the Battalion, we were soon ready to take over the guard of all the football games with the colorful ceremony of Formal Guardmount. This ceremony was one of the features of the Homecoming game and in spite of the bad winter weather which beset us on that very day, the Guardmount went off with the utmost success. Another feature under- taken this year for the first time was the ceremony of Escort of the Colours, and this, togetherwith the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of patriotic hymns and songs, soon became a regular Wednes- day morning feature. On November Iith, Armistice Day, the entire Battalion did its part to honor our heroic dead, by a parade and ceremony in front of the historic VVoodstock Court House. On December 14th a War Department inspection, the first of two an- nual inspections held this year, was conducted by Major Carle, assistant to the officer in charge of Civilian Component Affairs at 3rd Corps Area. In addition to the classroom work and indoor in-

Page 32 text:

The C alour Guard spection, we demonstrated in the field the great variety of work we had completed by the end of the first term, close order drill, scouting and pa- trolling, and extended order combat formations. Major Carle, whose visit was his first one to Massa- nutten, was impressed by the excellence of train- ing and discipline shown so early in the year. During the winter months the mandatory VVar Department Program of Instruction was carried out in the classroom indoors under Major Grim- mer, Sergeant Richardson, Lieutenant Reiley and Captain Newcorn. For the basic course first year, the subjects were Organization, Military Courtesy, Customs of the Service and Discipline, Military Sanitation and lfirst Aid, Scouting, National De- fense Act, Map Reading and Rifie Marksmanship. Second year subjects were Automatic Rifle, Ma- chine Gun Drill, Musketry, Squad Combat Prin- ciples, Rifle Marksmanship and Map Reading. The advanced students covered Military Law and Pro- cedure, Military History and Policy, Administra- tion, Aerial Photograph Reading, Mechanization, lfield lfortifications, Principles of Command and Leadership, Estimate of the Situation and Combat Orders, Tactics and Technique of Machine Gun and Howitzer Weapons, and Combat Principles for Platoon and Company in Security, Attack and Defense. The fact that this comprehensive W'ar Department program could be completed within the one hour period allocated to R. O. T. C. in the early afternoon was due in no small part to the simplified drill and organization adopted this year. On February 24th was held our Annual Military Ball which, as usual, was a great success. The theme this year was Pan-Americanism and Latin- American amity. Our honored guests were Colonel and Mrs. Pedro Zanni of Argentina. Colonel Zanni, a pioneer military aviator and at present stationed in Washington, D. C., as military and air attache for the Argentine Embassy, reviewed the pageant given in his honour. The pageant con- sisted ofa special drill by the Battalion, massing of the Hags of the twenty-one Latin-American Re- publics, while the band played excerpts of their national anthems, and a colourful Grand March. A very enjoyable dance followed attended by a C 0 m mzrfiofzed Officers great number of our patrons as well as the cadets and their ladies. The decorations, consisting of flags of all nations, literally covering the walls and ceiling of our gymnasium, the soft lights and the excellent music of the orchestra and of our own band made this an evening long to be remembered. Rifie training this year was practically continu- ous during the first and second terms. Smallbore rifle firing during the past school year was carried on with the idea of having more cadets participate in competitive firing than have done so in the past. Emphasis was placed on developing a large number of good shots rather than a small group of expert