Millersburg Military Institute - Sniper Yearbook (Millersburg, KY)

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MILLERSBURG MILITARY INSTITUTE MILLERSBURG. KENTUCKY Established 1893 “RIGHT TRAINING IS BETTER THAN RICHES” Reprinted with permission from the Lexington Sunday Herald Leader Suutfcuj limtlft-foahrr 84 PAGES METRO FINAL LEXINGTON. KENTUCKY. JANUARY 17. 1982 75 CENTS 36TH YEAR. NO 3 MMI marches into future with renewed vigor By Becky Todd Staff Writer MILLERSBURG - In the early morning darkness, the uniformed ca- dets dutifully gather in the snow-cov- ered parking lot of Millersburg Mili- tary Institute, forming into small companies to file into the nearby cafe- teria. In the dining hall of Kentucky’s only remaining military school, the cadets wait in an orderly line for their turn, their hands crossed behind their backs. Later, after breakfast, the 76 young MMI residents again file out into the cold for their drill and flag- raising ceremonies, joined by another 20 students who attend the school only during the day. For Cadet Lt. Col. Danny Dam- pier, who will soon turn 18 and is serv- ing this year in the school’s highest student position as batallion com- mander, the order and discipline that is expected by his teachers and peers at MMI is the best preparation for life he says can be found. Rose Mary Stamler, 15, says that her 4 2 years at the school have given her “some discipline I wouldn’t have had,” and her position this year as platoon leader has given her respect from her peers. A decade ago, military school life was rejected by thousands of young people across the country. The anti- war sentiment generated by the Viet- nam War, among other things, caused enrollments to decline dramatically at MMI and at the nation’s other mili- tary schools. But unlike many of the military schools that were forced to close dur- ing those years — including the state’s oldest, Kentucky Military Institute, in 1971 — MMI held on. This year, the school is enjoying its largest opening enrollment since before the Vietnam War era. MMI held on because supporters of the school, founded in 1893 and lo- cated in the small, picturesque Bour- bon County town of Millersburg, would not let it die. Cadet Rose Mary Stamler, a 15-year old sophomore, is one of only four girls at the Millersburg Military Institute.