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

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,, Q92 'Ulllli - ...im V ...A Much of this interest carried over and through the scholastic term of 1933-34. The Spring Hop and Parents' Day program attracted the unprecedented number of 1,300 parents and alumni with a consequent overflowing of all possible accommodations in or near Cornwall. Academy officials added impetus to this alumni interest by announc- ing, at the 1934 commencement, that only N.Y.M.A. graduates would be asked to make the principal address at this ceremony from that time on. The address of that year was given by Lieutenant Colonel deRubio, of the class of 1894. Highlights in sports for 1934 were an undefeated track team, captained by Philip Brooks, '35, and the Academy's first boxing tournament. Boxing had been a compulsory ex- ercise from the early years of the school, but there never previously had been any formal competition, either inter- scholastic or intramural. Lieutenant Edwin johnson, pro- fessor of military science, originated the idea and carried it to such a successful conclusion that the tournament has now become an annual fixture. The first tournament not only drew a large entry but also attracted, as a spectator, every cadet who was not en- tered. The finals were staged with regulation ring, seconds, and all the rest of the paraphernalia of the sport. The fol- lowing champions were crowned: Junior School-Frank Erickson, Jr., '34, and Vernon Landon, Jr., '34, flyweight- John Cassidy, '39, featherweight-Courtland Young, '36, lightweight-Raymond LaRose, '35, Welterweight-joseph Kohout, '36, middleweight-Vincent Lupo, '36, heavy- weight-Donald Ward, '36. The month of November ended at midnight with the Corps divided. Some were far down the jersey coast while the remainder were holding the fortress at Corn- wall. Little wonder that there was uneasiness and ex- citement in the air that night. The Corps divided . . . never before had it been. -The Shrapnel, 1935. War again? The cadets called out to help defend the country against a grim invader? Hardly. November 30, 1934, was the day before the first football game between N.Y.M.A. and Admiral Farragut Academy at Atlantic City and the gridiron squad had left a day early in order to get in some practice at the auditorium there. Next morning marked the beginning of an orgy the like of which had never been witnessed at the Academy before. Relieved of the rigors of the usual daily schedule, the Corps sat down to breakfast at 9:30 A.M. and gorged itself on steak and potatoes, an experience in itself to be long remembered. Then came the march to the special train and the loading of the entire student body and faculty. The ride on the train was satisfactory for awhile but the amusement facilities were limited, and the boys were glad to reach the Jersey coast resort in the late afternoon. Dinner finished, the cadets marched off to the audi- torium and took part in the almost endless ceremonies which preceded the football game itself. The battle was a fitting climax to the full day, however, as the teams fought on even terms through more than three quarters, and then it was N.Y.M.A. which made the only score of the game. Mickie Lowell, '35, tossed a 40-yard forward pass to Don Ward late in the final period to set the stage for the touchdown, and crossed the goal line himself a few plays later to bring victory to Cornwall. The tired but deliriously happy cadets had another thrill on the return journey the next day. When their train pulled into jersey City they found themselves cheek-by- jowl with the West Point train and, says Shmpnel, it was they who looked up to us for having accomplished a task which they had failed to do-that of whipping Navy. February, 1935, found the Academy in the throes of another epidemic, but this one was more annoying than serious, for the majority of the Corps had contracted-of all things-German Measles. West Barracks was called into service as an emergency hospital, and student activities were at an almost total standstill for a long time. There was little lingering in bed by convalescents, however, as the epidemic threatened cancellation of the Midwinter Hop, a catastrophe beyond imagining. Fortunately, the Corps lost its spots in time so that the Hop was delayed only a week from its originally scheduled date. Spring sports were featured by the performances of two undefeated teams-track and tennis. Phil Brooks led the trackmen through six dual meets in which the Ny- manians were never pressed. Jack Devereaux, '35, and Bill Smallwood, '35, served as co-captains of the racqueteers in their all-victorious drive against seven opponents. Pough- keepsie High School presented the only team to give the cadets a close fight. An impressive and romantic ceremony-that of the Ring-became a part of traditional life at the Academy at the Spring Dance of 1936. Copied from similar ceremonies at West Point and Annapolis, the rite now marks a high point in the junior year of every cadet. The juniors choose their class rings in advance of the date of the Spring Dance and a gigantic replica of the ring is then constructed and mounted on a low platform in the gymnasium. At a given signal the senior class, each man with his feminine companion, forms an aisle through which each junior and the girl of his choice walks to the Ring. Each couple mounts the tiny platform and the girl then slips the Class ring upon her companion's finger-and seals the pledge with a kiss. Ensuing heart-throbs have made Page Thirty-six

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Wivvln ,LX AX 'Peg-V' PARENTS' DAY AT CORNWALL Some of the sixteen hundred persons who attended in 1959. the Hearst Trophy Match, and finished second in the Na- tional lntercollegiate Championship. The year 1952 was also notable for the fact that it marked the founding of an award second in importance only to that of being Head Boy . Set up by the New York Military Academy Alumni Association, the Achieve- ment Alumni Award is presented each year to that mem- ber of the graduating class who has been in attendance for at least three full school years, nominated by his class- mates and finally selected by a board consisting of the President of the Alumni Association, the Headmaster and the Commandant of Cadets. The winner is chosen for his strength of character, record of broad scholarship, athletic interest and ability, military efficiency and discipline, and for having done most to increase and maintain the spirit and morale of the Corps during his period at the school. The Grst cadet to have his name inscribed on the large tablet hanging in the hall of the academic building was Albert Hutton, jr., '52, The award has taken its place among the coveted honors that N.Y.M.A. can bestow. QA special page in this book is devoted to the winners of the ACHIEVEMENT ALUMNI AWARD., In the following school year, all sports lagged. The football team sounded the keynote by tying two games and losing the other seven on its schedule. The varsity basket- ball team was discontinued altogether, and intramural games substituted. Among the spring sports, the baseball team dropped six out of seven contests and the lacrosse team lost five out of six. This was a most active year among the alumni. Led by its president, Sanford Treat, '15, the Alumni Association staged a New Enrollment Campaign in 1933, which ma- terially increased the membership. There were also numer- ous meetings in various parts of the country throughout the year, with the result that a record crowd of Old Boys turned out for the commencement program in June. Page Tlairiy-fire

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'lift W5 9' ,U . -- .,,,4,f:--- ,, .., A - - V- -1.-1-. - GROUP OF ENTHUSIASTIC ALUMNI WHO MET jUST BEFORE 1959 COMMENCEMENT Back row Cleft to rightl- Spen Driggs '06g Hen Clark 'OSQ Brad Manning '07, 1938 President of Alumni Asso- ciation: jack Shattuck 'USL john Brewer V041 Elwyn Leslie '06g Lang Leslie '09. Middle row-Stuart Reed '03g Mike Aschoff '00g Zack Walttmn '99, Secretary of Alumni Association: Lloyd Brooks '99g lien jones '99g Burns Magruder '98g Ted Harding '23, newly elected President of Alumni Association. Front row--Frank Zittell '92g Pa Lord '97g Art Simonson '95g Buck Dewey 'UOQ joe Taylor '90g Pat Flaherty '953 Fliot Moore '00. many a cadet's dress coat far too tight for comfortable breathing. During the summer of 1936 General Davis became president of the Academy after serving as superintendent for almost fourteen years. On August 15 of that year it was announced that Colonel Frank A. Pattillo had been appointed superintendent. Colonel Pattillo became associated with N.Y.M.A. in 1926 as commandant and professor of military science. He was appointed assistant superintendent in 1933. Born in Forsyth, Georgia, on May 30, 1892, Colonel Pattilo was graduated from Wentworth Military Academy in 1910, and from Emory University in 1914 with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy. When the United States entered the World War he enrolled in the 38th Infantry and was appointed a second and then a first lieutenant in August, 1917. He was at the Artny Service School, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, during the latter part of that year, and with the 38th Infantry at Camp Greene, North Carolina, until March, 1918, when his regiment was ordered to France. Colonel Pattillo served continuously with the 38th and was appointed captain on june 22, 1918. His command participated in six major engagements, and he was wounded on three different occasions-the Aisne-Marne of- fensive, july Zlg occupation of the Vesle Defensive Sector, August 6, and the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne offens- ive, October 11, 1918. On june 6, 1939, Governor E. D. Rivers, of Georgia, appointed him to the Governor's Staff in the capacity of lieutenant colonel. Numerous new cadet activities were introduced by Colonel Pattillo in the school year of 1936-37. Two bowl- ing alleys were constructed and became a central gathering place at once. The popularity of the new game was appar- ent from the beginning, not only among the boys but for members of the faculty as well. Although rifle shooting had been an important sport at the Academy for many years fthe rifie team took first and second places in the Hearst Trophy Match in 1937j, trapshooting was something entirely new when the trap house and shooting stands were opened for the first time on March 1, 1937. Allan Gillette, instructor in English, was placed in charge of the sport, and found a group of about forty boys ready to give it a try. Few of the boys had had any experience in this type of shooting, but Gillette worked diligently with them for the remainder of the year. In the spring of 1938 a team was entered in Class E of the American Amateur Trap- 1:','4.:'.-:L---.rpw..q.-eq-1-u-afralr -- - ,W 1 Y- HW, ,-,TWV Y, Page Tbirly-se1'en