New York Military Academy - Shrapnel Yearbook (Cornwall on Hudson, NY)

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Persevcrance on the part of Clifton Beckwith Brown, '96, who be- came imbued with the idea that the chapter ought to have a house, and who was undaunted in the face of all kinds of obstacles, resulted in the building of the first interscholastic fraternity house in this country. The house now stands as a memorial to Brown, and is still one of the best in the country. The opening day of school this year saw fourteen of our old men back and we immediately buckled down to work, and at the present writ- ing we have twenty-eight active men and twelve pledge pin men. XVe are enjoying one of the most prosperous years Eta has ever had and we are well represented in all school activities. XVe are more than well represented in the Service by seventy-seven of our men, seventy per cent. of whom are holding commissions in the United States Army. The first two and only men from N. Y. M. A. who have been killed in this great war were Pi Phi men. The lirst to make the supreme sacrifice was Perley Raymond Hamilton, '16, who, while serving as an ambulance driver on the French front, was killed by a shell explosion while loading his ambulance under fire on the evening of July 24th. His cottin was decorated with the Croix de Guerre and he was buried with high military honors. John Flannigan, '94, was the second to give his life. 1-le was killed in the trenches in France in February, 1918, but as yet no details of his death have been received. Lieutenant gl. Langdon Leslie, '09, of the 165th Infantry of the Rain- bow Division, recently won the Croix de Ciuerre for gallantry under tire and has been wounded twice. 133

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F1zoNT or THE CnAi'TER 1-lousn, OVERLOOKING THE TENNIS COURTS i 1913i Jfraternitp In 1889 N. Y. M. A. was founded by Col. C. J. VVright, who for many years had been superintendent of the Peekskill Military Academy. He brought with him a large number of the cadets, some of whom were fraternity men. A year later, in the spring, through the efforts of eight of these cadets a charter was secured and Eta Chapter, Pi Phi Fraternity, was established and began its prosperous career. The school grew and prospered for several years and Eta shared in its success. But in 1893 there developed considerable trouble and dissension in thenfaculty and cadet corps, which naturally caused a falling off in the attendance of the school, followed by friction between the authorities and the fraternities. As a result an order was issued banish- ing fraternities from N. Y. M. A. Due to a change in the management, a year later the fraternities were re-established and with a chapter of three members Eta revived her activities and again took her place as an important factor in the school. 132

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1- be -P ALPHA G.xMxl.x CHAPTER OF DEl.T.-X SIGMA NU