Repository: UIHistories Project: UI Foundation Series - Bulletin 6 (1937) [PAGE 3]

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THE STUDENT BRIGADE, in formation on Military Day. The reviewing stand for the government representatives and for other guests is in the center foreground, just south of Armory avenue. The men

look small—but there are 4,000 of them in the picture, and the formation is over a quarter of a mile long. Insets: left, Col. Fred R. Brown, Commandant; right, Paul W. Neidhardt, student colonel.

The Military Brigade at the University of Illinois

Y ^ U R military department, which is ^ the same age as the University and could also celebrate a birthday March 2, is just one of a number of things we a r e proud of at Illinois. It is the biggest thing of its kind in the country, maybe in the world, and always receives high praise from the commanding general at the annual inspection, as the nation's finest R.O.T.C. As one of Aus H a r d ing's 120-piece bands swings into action with military precision for the "sounding-off" ceremony before the assembled brigade, we are reminded of our little band of 25 strutting through the same performances in the gay '90s—only it is so different. In those days we mustered perhaps 200 cadets; today 4,200 spread over the immense parade ground in brigade formation. Then, one lone army officer represented the U.S. Government; now we have a ranking colonel as commandant and 25 other army officers as instructors. Time has not dimmed the interest which the student body takes in this pageantry and in the worthwhile training which the department gives. T h e military unit has merely expanded and broadened with the years and has become a commanding feature of our student activity. From Snyder to B r o w n . T h e U n i versity of Illinois belongs to that group rotnmnnlv-i*»fl"^-'i- u^A<yva.nt colleges. As such it has had, except during the World War, a military department which began in 1868, with Col. Edward Snyder as commandant of the University Battalion until 1877. H e also founded our department of modern languages. The first army officer was detailed here in 1877, with a corps of 168 cadets receiving rudimentary instruction in infantry drill and tactics. Today Col. Fred R. Brown, as commandant since December, 1933, and a roster of 25 army officers, train the brigade in the R.O.T.C. branches of infantry, field artillery, cavalry, engineers, signal corps and coast artillery. A total of 993 commissions as second lieutenants, Officers' Reserve Corps, has been granted in the last five years, and nearly as many during each preceding five years since 1923. At the beginning of the first semester of this University year the senior class numbered 248 and advanced course enrollments 491. The Armory, a covered drill-ground and indoor athletics field, 200 by 400 feet, one of the largest covered, unobstructed floor spaces in the world, also provides offices for the army officer instructors and classrooms for military classes. Ample drill grounds, as shown in the airplane picture, are used for the spring and fall formations of the brigade. On Jan. 1, 1935, the equipment, including 150 horses, assigned without cost by the Federal Government to the University of Illinois, was valued at $600,000. As one-third of our total R.O.T.C. enrollment receive riding instruction, there is need for a riding drill hall, especially in inclement weather. The p r i m a r y o b j e c t s of the R.O.T.C. courses of instruction are to qualify students for leadership in time of national emergency and to make them better qualified as citizens. The courses have a content of general educational value. They afford to the University a means for practical training in organization, leadership and discipline which will be of value to its graduates in an industrial or professional career. Members of advanced courses are furnished transportation by the federal government to and from summer training camp, receive pay and all living expenses, including medical and dental attention while at camp. Army Officers. Col. F r e d R. B r o w n is commandant and professor of military science and tactics, and there are the following directors:—Maj. Ray L. Burnell, Field Artillery; Lieut.-Col. Bird S. DuBois, Coast Artillery Corps; Lieut.Col. H a r r y A. Flint, Cavalry; Lieut.Col. James A. Stevens, Infantry; Capt. Kenneth S. Stice, Signal Corps; and Lieut.-Col. Charles J. Taylor, Engineers. Other officers in alphabetical order are:—Vance W . Batchelor, Major, Cavalry; James D. Brown, Major, C.A.C.; Milo G. Cary, Captain, C . A . C ; Clifford B. Cole, Major, F.A.; Alfred J. deLorimier, Major, Cavalry; Leslie M. Grener, Captain, Cavalry; Frank S. Kirkpatrick, Captain, F.A.; Robert B. Lothrop, First Lieutenant, C.E.; Irwin L. Lummis, Major, Infantry; Richard S. Marr, Captain, F.A.; Albert G. Matthews, Captain, C.E.; Willard F. Millice, Captain, F.A.; James B. Muir, Jr., Major, C.A.C ; Edwards M. Quigley, Captain, F.A.; Edward A. Routheau, Captain, F.A.; Albert S. J. Stovall, Jr., Captain, Cavalry; Carl H. Sturies, First Lieutenant, S.C.; Abraham Tabachnik, Major, Infantry, and Volney W. Wortman, Captain, C.A.C. Student Officers. Paul W . N e i d h a r d t , '37, has the high honor of being the present student colonel. H e is an outstanding student not only in the School of Journalism but also in his courses in military science. Seven lieutenantcolonels are the senior cadet officers in the various branches of the R.O.T.C.:-— Harlan A. Hashbarger, Coast Artillery C o r p s ; Harold W. Busch, Field Artillery ; Frederick J. Foersterling, Infant r y ; George J. Zink, Cavalry; Raymond C. Purl, Engineers; Millard E. Castle, Field Artillery; and Richard R. Little, Signal Corps. T h e Field Artillery is our largest unit, with an average strength of about 1,200 cadets, organized into two regiments, each with a lieutenant-colonel.