North Carolina State University - Agromeck Yearbook (Raleigh, NC)

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■ • S«v.-- In 1917. the 2nd Bat- talion made use of Rid- dick Field to conduct bavonet exercises. h A M ' s first war heroes inspire entire nation in WWI By Michael Hughes In Ihc year 1917, the United States, and the North Carolina State Agricultural and Engineering College, were at peace. Sort of. According to Alice Elizabeth Regan, author ol ' A Narrative History of N.C. State University, a general feeling of unrest, excitement, and speculation pervaded the campus. And with good reason. Across the Atlantic in Europe, the costly and brutal First World War was being fought. Although the U.S. was not officially involved in the war effort of either side, preparations were made to train young men for the impending call to arms. Congress passed the National Defense Act of June 3, 1916. Consequently, State College formed a ROTC unit here in 1917 to (jualify students to become reserve officers in the U.S. Army. The training sponsored by ROTC was designed to interfere minimally with students ' civilian careers. Freshmen and sophomores were required to participate in not less than three hours of training per week. Upon completion of the first two years at A M, (as State was sometimes called back then) students could choose to receive not less than five hours of training per week for their last two years. These students were paid $100 a year pay by Uncle Sam. The terms were generally perceived as being fair and equitable, particularly by the standards of the early 1900s. There was no obligation to become part of the National Guard or Regular Army; no oath was taken beyond that necessary for the training period. There was a four week training camp at the end of each academic year. All uniforms and materials were paid for by the U.S. government. Upon graduation and successful completion of the voluntary training, students were placed on a list of reserve officers as second lieutenants. In times of war. Uncle Sam could call on these men to serve with any forces raised for national emergency. After the United States entered the war against the Central Powers, the country stepped up mobilization of armed forces. In the fall of 1918. State College ' s ROTC unit was replaced by a unit of the Student Army Training Corps ISATCl The SATC provided students with $30 per month pay. uniforms, room, board and tuition. Never before had such favorable benefits been given to the men of State. These generous benefits allowed many a North Carolina boy to attend State College: boys who otherwise would not have had the chance. A M ' s students reacted to the war with enthusiasm and excitement. The boys voted unanimously to wear their khaki uniforms throughout the college term, despite the fact that they were only required to wear them from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. A look at the 1918 edition of the Agromeck reveals the martial bearing State followed. All portraits were taken in the students ' military uniforms. The campus was organized into six companies AG. AB-CD-E-F-G adds up to seven, but for some reason, there was no Company D. Each company was commanded by a senior who held the rank of cadet Captain. Captain Robert E.L. Spence. United Stales Army, Retired, was the Commandant of Cadets. Company A was commanded by Captain Wilmer Zadlock Belts, a senior in civil engineering. Belts hailed from Raleigh, and was known as Z or Zamrock to his friends. Beds was known for his neatness and hard work. Neatness thy name is pains: and Belts, his name is grind, according to the 1918 Agromeck. He was the hardest working man in the civilian class. Company B ' s commander quite possibly held more posts of honor than anyone preceding him. He was a member of the I ' ullen Literary Society, the Agricultural Club, on the YMCA cabinet and class historian, just to name a few. Despite his awards, he was known far and wide for his modesty. The IdlS Agromeck lists him as the prodigy of the Class. His name was Lyman Kiser, a senior in agriculture from Reepsville, N.C. He had the distinction of possessing one of the most original nicl ' names to grace the campus of the Agricultural Engineering College — the nickname of ' Iviser. V. ' 22 Centennial

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Above: Pictured here is a Chemistry boolc used at State College in 1919. and the re- ceipt of payment for S 2 . Times have changed. Centennial 2 '

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1 9 1 ' S William Edward Leeper, a civil cnginecrinfi; student and alhletf. commanded t ' ompany C. Lceper. from Belmont, N.C., played class baseball, class basketball and varsity basketball. He was also smart as a whip. Any professor who made a mistake, in class or out, was ' |uickiy corrected by Leep. as he was known to his friends. Daniel Russell Sayer, an a]a;riculture student from Wilmington, N.C., commanded Company E. ' Daniel ' was a leader in campus societies and clubs, and an exceptional student. r mipany F was commanded by John Jacob Jackson from Kinston, N.C. Jack. a textiles student, was known as the hard luck case on campus. During his freshmen year at A M. his house — and everything in it — caui;ht fire and burned down. He spent a summer at Oglethorpe Military Camp, but didn t gel his commission. Nev(!rtheless, his stickabilily and prevalent good nature. showed through. .According to the 1918 Aii romcck, he was bounri to be a soldier, because he had it in his blood. Company G was commanded by William Daniel Lee of Asheville, N.C. This agriculture student was a natural mountaineer. The 1918 Agrowcrk lists him as a natural woman-hater w ho expected to be a bachelor through all his life. Agronieck stated that he became one of the best fellows in the class — once they stopped him from visiting St. Mary ' s, the nearby women ' s college. Members of the athletics teams were faced with a slight {(uandary which was i|uickly resolved. Regulations wouldn ' t allow them to wear their monogrammed sweaters with military uniforms. The athletes met and formed an .Athletics Club, voting in the proces. ; to adopt a pin to be worn in place of their cherished monogrammed red sweaters. A M sent men to the armed forces through military camps such as Camp Oglethorpe near Chattanooga, Tennessee and to the National Army at Camp Jackson. S.C. Of course, not all men went to the front. Yes, even in those idyllic, patriotic days of the early 1900s, there were draft exemptions. The Office of Chief Engineers in Washington, D.C. provided that engineering students subjected to the draft could, under certain restrictions, enter the Engineer Enlisted Corps. They would then be placed on an inactive list until coursework was completed. To be eligible, a student had to in the first one-third of his class; he had to pursue coursework toward engineering or an equivalent technical degree, and he had to pass a searching physical examination. This exemption from fighting duty meant a lot to students at the college, since as wars go, World War I was not very pleasant. Still, there were those who made it to the muddy trenches in France, to the blue skies over Germany and the Rhine, to the deep black forests of the Argonne in Belgium. Those who made it wrote home to tell their kinfolks what it was like in France. Reuben L. Tatum of the class of 1916 wrote But did I hear you say heavenly wine - whoo! — goodnightl — If I were to tell you how they made wine over here, you would be sick for a month. Over here the people do not know what water is, for all drink wine — red, white, and all grades of it. ..Sometimes I just wonder how they live. Tatum wrote that most of his life in France was spent building and preparing for the incoming boys. He complemented the Y.M.C.A and Y.W ' .C.A for entertaining the men. Good movies, good music, good wholesome fun of all grades kept hundreds of boys entertained who might otherwise have been involved in other things. Ah. shades of yesteryear and those days of innocence gone by. The doughboys from State didn ' t spend all their time drinking wine, dancing, and writing home. There was serious, grim work to be done. .And the Staters ' bravery and determination showed through and through. State men such as George C. Cox of Cullowhee, N.C, went above and beyond the call of duty. This 1917 graduate was the first man from western North Carolina to be cited for bravery. He was one of five brothers to serve in the armed forces. He was rewarded for keeping communication and phone lines in service under extreme duress. In fact, it is reported that it was his message that preceded the .Allied attack. State produced fighting men such as James H. Baugham of Washington, N.C. If nothing else, this gallant youth was certainly one of the most impetuous Staters to join the war effort. He enrolled at A M in the fall of 1916. The glory of war was implanted more fiercely in his hea rt than academics, though, and he only attended school for about two months. He went to Europe and volunteered for the French army, becoming a noncommissioned officer, aviator, and a member of the famed Lafayette Escadrille. In one engagement over enemy lines, he was credited with two killings of German aircraft, one confirmed and one unconfirmed. The latter one was too far behind German lines for his spotters to see. For his daring exploits, he earned the fabled French Croix de Guerre. His decorations did not stop there. In a June 11, 1918 letter written to home, he said I have been proposed, and will get as soon as the general of the army comes home to decorate, for the medal militaire. The cherished decoration was described by Baugham as the highest medal given by the French army to a non-commissioned officer. But glory has a price. James H. Baugham was shot down on July 1, 1918 while patrolling over German lines with his squadron, engaging several German warplanes. He died in a French hospital the next day. A little more than four months later, the armistice between the Allies and the Central Powers was negotiated. With the armistice. State ' s role as a military institution declined. University President Wallace Carl Riddiek was notified on November 2.5. 1918 that the Student .Army Training Corps, which had served State and the nation so well, would begin demobilization on December 4. The SATC was replaced by the ROTC. ROTC was nothing new to State, since such a program had formerly existed. The general consensus among Staters was that the SATC gave young men at State a sen.se of discipline and intensive training. The college would be better for the experience. The SATC was gone, and t he w ar was indeed over. Centennial 23