University of Massachusetts Amherst - Index Yearbook (Amherst, MA)

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placed by crossed tommy guns, or some- thing. ... In June the awarding of commissions to members of the graduating class is the proudest moment of the Army ' s spirit here. Of the twenty seniors who became shave-tails with the class of ' 40, for example, thirteen were selected for a year ' s active duty under the Thomason Act; and this year the prospects are greater. Massachusetts State College is able to produce some of the best officer material in the Army. Two hundred twenty miles on horse- back to Fort Ethan Allen! After seniors receive commissions, juniors begin their annual ride to the fort. More than twenty junior military majors ride through Vermont ' s Green Mountains to the fort where they spend three weeks in rifle, machine-gun, and pistol practice. There the boys get a taste of honest-to-goodness Army life, living in tents and learning the ropes. Kitchen Police duty, a camp horseshow, and a daily routine of horse- grooming and range practice occupy the men from five-thirty in the morning imtil five in the afternoon. And finally comes the ten-day ride back to State where they arrive tanned and dusty and tired. The Cavalry, instead of being on its H. King, R. HaU. Prouty. Schen Aykroyd, Hamel, Scolliii, C. Bui Broderick, Crerie, Bragdon. Hendr t;vW ■ » ; v Color guard inarches at the head of College K.O. T. C. unit in the annual June review way out, is definitely on its way to being more important than ever before — this is the keynote of a statement made this year by Lt. Col. Donald A. Young, com- mandant of the Massachusetts State College R.O.T.C. unit. Gone are the days, Colonel Young said, when the Cavalry unit consisted of a cavalryman, a horse, a McLellan pack, a sabre, a rifle and a pistol. The modern Cavalry unit, augmented by small tanks, light guns and other pieces .er, C. Jones, Haskell, Skogsberg r, Foley. Bassett. Coffey, Knight ckson. Bolt, C. F. Goodwin. Tills. 20

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gleamed from all sides. Spread eagles perched majestically on their sturdy claws. There was a distinctly blue sky above and a very slippery floor below, while all about gleamed the white of shirt fronts and the brass of embryo officers. The Military Ball pulled the lanyard on the formal dance series at State . . . and they say that the shell which was re- leased has not been accounted for defi- nitely as yet .... Hal Mclntyre ' s band did the honors at the inception of a new Honorary Colonel — Jeanne Phillips, reputed to be the most beautiful bit of femininity on campus . . . we were convinced by the sight of the fair damsel drifting happily under the arch of swords created by the cadets of her command .... Ball Com- mittee Chairman Harry Scollin was the donor of a steady right arm for the escort detail. Lieutenant Colonel Donald A. Young, P.M.S. T., presented Miss Phil- lips with a colorful bouquet of red roses and a gold insignia of crossed sabres . . . getting back to horses, sabres and stuff, we hope the motif next year will not go ultra-modern on us and display combat cars stuck in the mud and the sabres re- Chosen as honorary colonel. Miss .leanne Phillips — Phi Zeta senior — is shown with K.O.T.C. Cadet Officer Clem Burr ' Cadets in camp — at left is a row of tents at Fort Ethan Allen and at right, inilitary majors with gas masks at camp in ' 40 19

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A salute to First Corps Area Commander, jMaj. Gen. Woodruff, before his inspection of mechanized warfare, is more effective, more dangerous than ever before. In re- cent wars, horses have been moved in vans hundreds of miles to woodlands, mountains, swamps, deserts — places where tanks would be of no avail. The fact that Germany has a cavalry of between 700,000 and 800,000 horses; that England is building up her own cavalry; that Italy, without the aid of cavalry in her African campaign, is hav- ing a great deal of trouble moving her tanks about in the desert — all this, Colon- el Young emphasized, pointed to the importance of cavalry, augmented by mechanized units. Interest in war is taking more and more of a hold on the College: the number of students in competition for the R.O. T.C. rifle team (begun in November, 1940 on campus) far exceeds the number of candidates for any other student ac- tivity, sports, or academic. Despite in- sufficient facilities for training and de- spite the fact that no remuneration is to be given, 135 men representing all classes turned out for the rifle team which is coached by Lieut. Anthony Nogello ' 37. Participation is voluntary. No letters or other recognition are awarded. Several postal meets have already been arranged with Louisiana State University, Virginia Polytechnical Institute, Rutgers LTniver- sity. University of Tennessee, University of Pennsylvania, Connecticut State Univ- ersity, and Niagara LTniversity. A fifteen man team has been chosen and is repre- senting the college at all rifle meets. Durhig the June regimental review military awards are made: the Society of the American Revolution medals, the 315th Cavalry trophy sabre, marksman- ship medals, and the Stowell trophy cup. Mclnick, Tripp, Stone, Laliberte. Pierce, White. Gilman, Wall, Conley, Trufanl, Tewhill Doubleday. Andrew. J. Gordon, Gaumond, Cressy, Lafleur, Fosjsate, J. Shepardson, Williams, Kennedy, Alwood, Na MoHil, Langlon, I ' rd.son. W. Kimhall. very. G. Kimhnll. Leland. Seery. :arter. ISi linp, G. Bennett . «► 21