Lieutenant Colonel “Beau” Register, ’05: Soldier, Healer, Hero
By Scott C. Woodard, ’92, U.S. Army, Office of Medical History, Historian
This article originally appeared in The AMEDD Historian, Number 9 Spring 2015, Army Medical Department Center of History and Heritage, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and is posted with permission.
Dr. Edward Chauncey Register was a heroic figure putting others before himself and answering the call of duty to the nation and his fellow man, ultimately sacrificing his life on January 3, 1920. After graduating from The Citadel in 1905, he completed his degree in medicine from the Medical College of Virginia in 1908. Upon graduation from the Army Medical School he was commissioned a First Lieutenant in the Medical Corps of the Regular Army. In his early career Register served in the Philippines, Mexico with the Punitive Expedition, and China. During WWI he performed medical reviews of soldiers prior to their deployment to Europe. In 1919 he was called to France to medically screen repatriated German prisoners.
Cadet Register, 1905 Sphinx
“Always interested in others’ welfare, even though it may be to his own hurt, and thus he was enthroned himself in the hearts of all his companions, who wish and predict for him the brightest of futures in his chosen profession of medicine.” – Excerpt from Register’s senior biography in the Sphinx, the annual of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets
Roland Louis Luerich, Jr., ’42
Born on December 16, 1916, in Milford, PA, and raised in Elizabeth, NJ, Roland Luerich, Jr., was the son of a Methodist minister who served as a chaplain in the first World War.
At The Citadel, he majored in Civil Engineering and was a member of the varsity boxing squad for three years. He was a Cadet Private throughout his four year study and was a member of Cadet Company “I” his first two years and “H” the last two.
Cadet Private Roland Louis Luerich, Jr., Class of 1942
Called to active duty on graduation, as a second lieutenant coastal artillery, he transferred to the Corps of Engineers prior to shipping overseas. He was a veteran of the North Africa, Sicily and Italy landings. First Lieutenant Roland Luerich, Jr. served as a combat engineer in the 175th Engineering Battalion before transferring to Company “A”, 16th Armored Engineer Battalion, 1st Armored Division. (more…)
Florentine To Unveil Citadel War Memorial
Florence Morning News, Florence, S.C., Thursday, December 1, 1949, p. 16
Mrs. Royall Selected For The Dedication
CHARLESTON – The most important event of the Citadel’s annual Homecoming Day celebration will be the ceremony of unveiling a memorial tablet in honor of the Citadel’s war dead.
The ceremony will take place at 11:15 Saturday morning in the Cadet Chapel. Thomas H. Pope of the class of 1935, speaker of the House of Representatives of South Carolina and candidate for governor, will make the address at the unveiling of the memorial tablet.
The memorial tablets as they appeared in 2013. Click on image to enlarge.
The tablet will be unveiled by Mrs. Sam J. Royall of Florence, whose son, William Milling Royall, class of 1942, was killed in action November 19, 1944, while serving with the infantry in (more…)
The story of ‘The Class that Never Was’ now in four languages across Europe
This article was originally published by The Citadel Newsroom on November 6, 2014.
CHARLESTON, SC – In honor of the 70th Anniversary of The Citadel’s Class of 1944, known as “The Class that Never Was”, and in memory of the members of the classmates who served in or were killed in action in World War II, the college released a special video presentation in 2014 just before D-Day.
Cadets consider enlisting with the Navy, 1942
Now, that video, which includes rare film footage from campus in the 1940s, is being shown in four languages throughout Europe, thanks to the work of Roger Long who is a member of The Citadel Class of 1989, and members of The Citadel Memorial Europe Foundation. Long is president of the BENELUX Citadel Club, and founder and chairman of The Citadel Memorial Europe Foundation. He lives in Heythuysen, in the Dutch province of Limburg. He is originally from Raleigh, N.C.
“Members of The Citadel Memorial Europe Foundation volunteer in middle schools around the continent. The video about The Class that Never Was is the perfect teaching tool we needed to help honors and memorialize the Citadel men and their allies who died while in the service of their country here in Europe and in North Africa,” Long said.
Long worked with translators to establish subtitled copies of the video in Dutch, French and Italian, to complement the original version in English, enabling Europeans speaking those languages to view the video. (more…)
Joseph Altomari, Class of 1945
Born in 1923 to Maria and Pasquala Altomari, Joseph grew up at 60-12 68th Avenue in Ridgewood, Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. He attended The Citadel for two years before entering service in the U.S. Army. During his freshman year, he was a member of Cadet Company “H”. The following academic year, he was a member of Cadet Company “K” and joined the English Club. On December 6, 1942 in Charleston, he enlisted in the army and was placed in the Enlisted Reserve Corps which allowed him to continue his study at The Citadel.
Cadet Private Joseph Altomari, Class of 1945
1943 Sphinx, Annual of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets
After being activated, he served for a time at Camp Breckenridge, Kentucky. He was with the Army Specialized Training Program (A.S.T.P.) until its dissolution in March 1944.
In Europe, he served in Company “C”, 50th Armored Infantry Battalion, 6th Armored Division. Sgt. Altomari died of (more…)
LIFE AT THE CITADEL
Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, Sunday, May 31, 1942, p.43
This is another in a series of articles on Life on the Campus at our leading schools and colleges. By ELEANOR NANGLE
FOR THE last week more than 200 first classmen at the Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina at Charleston, have been approaching, with a reluctance they wouldn’t have believed possible four years ago, the most eagerly anticipated event of their lives. As seniors they have led the corps for the last time. They have formed in the reviewing stand to receive the last parade. Yesterday they were graduated.
Today they are scattering to their homes in all parts of the country, most of them pausing only briefly before they enter the armed services. But something of them remains at the Citadel, adding in large or small measure to the vast stores of cadet tales and traditions there. And the spirit of the Citadel goes with them. In the life of all Citadel men the thread of Citadel memories is one of the most colorful, durable, and treasured in its whole tapestry.
Full-dress parade in the Spring of 1943 (Courtesy of The Citadel Archives)
The Citadel man has absorbed more than rigorous training of mind, body, and spirit, and when he reviews them, as all graduating cadets do on commencement day, he places new value on other gifts of the school to the student – the Spartan discipline, the good counsel, the friendships, the democracy, the pageantry of patriotism and the essence of it. (more…)
Thomas Edwin Campbell, Jr., Class of 1946
Born on May 12, 1924, in Florence, Alabama, to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas “Ed” Campbell, Thomas “Tom”, Junior, attended grade school in the Florence city schools. After completing two years at St. Bernard College at Cullman, Alabama, he transferred to Columbia Military Academy at Columbia, Tennessee, where he graduated in 1942. He entered The Citadel at Charleston, South Carolina, to study engineering in the fall of 1942, but volunteered for the services in the Air Corps in December. His father, Ed Campbell, attended Staunton Military Academy in Virginia and was a fighter pilot during the First World War.
Tom Campbell was called to active duty in February, 1943, and upon completion of his training received his wings and his commission at Dothan, Alabama. Sent overseas in February, 1945, he served in the 8th Air Force, 446th Bomb Group, 705th Bomb Squadron, as a co‐pilot of a B‐24H bomber and completed about 40 missions.
March 24, 1945 – Operation Varsity and Drop Zone Wesel
The mission on 24 March 1945 was in support of Allied troops engaged in (more…)
Edwin Browning Moore, Class of 1944
E.B. Moore was born on September 19, 1923 in Manila, Philippine Islands. His father, William C. Moore, Class of 1915, was a career Army officer, and the family moved many times in Edwin’s early years. Records show a few of their many residences included Gainesville, FL (1930), where his father was a military instructor at the University of Florida; Fort Davis, Panama Canal (1935); and Charleston, SC, (1938-1940 where his father was a military instructor at The Citadel. Edwin’s parents were married in 1918 in Columbus, Georgia. His mother, Dorothy Rodgers Moore, was from Charleston.
Cadet Sergeant Edwin Browning Moore, Class of 1944
Edwin’s father, Maj. William Cheney Moore, USA, was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel while at The Citadel. He was an Associate Professor of Military Science and Tactics and headed the Infantry Unit during the 1939-40 academic year. Working with him were two of his Citadel classmates, Maj. Robert Kirk, USA, and Maj. Roy Hilton. The 1940 Sphinx recorded, “Because they are alumni of The Citadel, they are able to assist cadets in coping with the various problems (more…)
Thomas Franklin Woodhead, Class of 1946
Thomas Franklin Woodhead was born on November 20, 1924 to Gertrude Easterly Woodhead and William Winters Woodhead of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The senior Woodhead had served in the Army during WWI, and, prior to the Great War, had been a bank clerk at the USA ROT Camp, Ft. Oglethorpe, GA.
Thomas grew up in Hamilton County, Tennessee. He graduated in 1942 from the Baylor School, a military college preparatory school for boys overlooking the Tennessee River at Chattanooga and attended summer school at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga prior to reporting to The Citadel with the Class of 1946. During his year as a member of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets, he was a Private in M Company.
Cadet Thomas Franklin Woodhead, Class of 1946
November 20, 1924 – December 10, 1944
Source: The 1943 Sphinx, p. 162.
He enlisted on June 13, 1943 and received his training at Camps Barkley and Walters in Texas. He sailed overseas on June 5, 1944 on a troopship loaded with replacement personnel. Once he reached the European Theater of Operations, he was assigned to Company “F”, 2nd Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Division, First U.S. Army. (more…)
Mysterieuze verbintenis maakt een Nederlandse Citadel-Cadet trots tijdens de Amerikaanse Veteransday en ver daarna
The Citadel Newsroom, November 11, 2016. Read the English version:
Uncanny connection brings pride for cadet from Holland on Veterans Day and beyond
De Nederlandse middelbare scholier en fervent basketbalspeler Tom Koopman kreeg een telefoontje van een Amerikaanse sportscout, behorende tot de Amerikaanse militaire academie “The Citadel”, gelegen in Charleston, South Carolina. De scout bood hem een volledige studiebeurs aan in de V.S. als Tom zou besluiten daar te komen basketballen. Koopman had nog nooit gehoord van deze school maar desondanks accepteerde hij het aanbod en startte als eerstejaars aan The Citadel in augustus 2013. Met deze start begon ook het spelen voor het basketbalteam van de school, The Bulldogs. De 203 cm lange Tom zit nu in zijn afstudeerjaar, is een succesvolle cadet en leider van het team.
Cadet Tom Koopman en zijn vader tijdens de ringen-ceremonie in oktober 2016
“Dit was het begin van iets unieks. Ik begreep van de aannamecommissie dat The Citadel een militaire school was, maar totdat je het hier echt zelf ervaart, is het moeilijk te begrijpen hoe speciaal deze plek eigenlijk is” aldus koopman. “Het was best zwaar aan het begin, maar wanneer je jezelf als cadet ontwikkelt, begin je het grotere plaatje te zien en begrijp je de waarde van een plekje in het South Carolina Kadettenkorps.”
Koopman ontving zijn felbegeerde Citadelring in oktober tijdens het ouderweekend. Zijn vader Patrick vloog naar Charleston vanuit zijn woonplaats Baarlo om de bijzondere prestatie van zijn zoon mee te kunnen vieren. Maar voordat vader en zoon gezamenlijk door de symbolische grote gouden ring zouden lopen, hadden ze samen al iets bijzonders in handen dat hun familie al decennia eerder aan de school verbond.
“Toen ik dit ontdekte kreeg ik er kippenvel van” aldus Roger Long, voorzitter van The Citadel Memorial Europe Foundation (more…)
Army ROTC at The Citadel celebrates 100 years
Citadel Coastal Artillery Corps ROTC cadets with 8 inch Howitzer M1918 MkVIII, circa 1923
Originally published by The Citadel, October 20, 2016, on thedigitel.com
The Citadel marks its Army ROTC Centennial on Oct. 21, 2016
By Maj. Steve Smith, TAC officer and Citadel historian
The Citadel applied to the U.S. Department of War in 1882, requesting that an Army officer be assigned to the college as Professor of Military Science and Tactics. That application laid the groundwork for what would eventually become an Army ROTC program at the college. (Photo: Citadel CAC ROTC cadets drilling Howitzer M1918 MkVIII, circa 1923)
In the coming years, The Citadel was classified as an Essentially Military College — meaning students were housed in barracks, constantly in uniform, and bound to a disciplinary system. As a result, the war department’s college division inspected The Citadel annually from 1904-27, during which time the college earned the distinguished college title 20 times until the program was suspended. In 1916 and 1917, the designation allowed The Citadel to recommend (more…)
Owen Waverly Skidmore, Class of 1946
Owen Skidmore was born on September 24, 1923, to Mattie Owen and Lloyd J. Skidmore of Albemarle, North Carolina. After graduating from Albemarle High School in June, 1942, he entered The Citadel with the Class of 1946 at the beginning of the academic year 1942-43. In the South Carolina Corps of Cadets, he was a member of Cadet Company K during this Freshman, and only, year at The Citadel. At the end of the first semester, he registered for the draft. His draft card, completed December 24, 1942, listed him as 5’7”, 132 lbs, brown hair and eyes, with a “ruddy” complexion. He would be inducted into the Army at Fort Bragg, N.C., on August 12, 1943.
Private Owen Skidmore wrote his parents, in a letter they received August 2, 1944, that he was wounded on July 26, receiving chest and head wounds, and was (more…)
Marvin Roth, Class of 1944
Born on July 18, 1924 to Estelle and Mack Roth and a native of Daytona Beach, Florida, Marvin Roth entered The Citadel in 1940 after graduating from Seabreeze High School. He was a member of the Class of 1944, known as “The Class That Never Was”. During his junior year, he was inducted into the US Army on November 12, 1942, and, together with his classmates, was immediately sent to Army basic training when the academic year ended, May 30, 1943.
Cadet Private Marvin Roth, Class of 1944
Source: 1943 Sphinx
While at The Citadel, Cadet Roth majored in English and was a member of Cadet Company C. In extracurricular activities, he was a member of the English Club and the boxing team, fighting in the 145-pound class.
“After all, I shall have to live with myself for a lifetime.”
In July 1943, Marvin Roth, along with another 61 members of The Citadel’s Class of 1944, underwent training at Fort McClellan in Alabama in lieu of the training normally given during the final Reserve Officer Training Corps year. At the end of this special training, and as soon as vacancies in officer candidate school at Fort Benning, in Georgia, opened, they would be sent for final training as second lieutenants in the officer’s reserve corps.
Having completed the special training, Marvin Roth declined officer candidate school in order to get to the action sooner. Specifically, he decided to forgo the opportunity to be commissioned as second lieutenant so that he could become a private in the paratroopers where, as his father would later explain, he felt the need was greater.
In March 1945, while serving with the armored infantry in combat in Germany, SSGT Roth’s name was entered into the Congressional Record when his congressman read aloud, on the floor of the House of Representatives, his letter explaining how he could not accept the congressman’s appointment to the US Naval Academy because his duty was with his men at the front. (The news article with the full account follows below.)
An account of his refusal of the appointment was also reported by a combat correspondent who wrote the action left his fellow soldiers bewildered and his platoon sergeant completely baffled as to why anyone would pass up the chance to return to the safety of the “Promised Land”. When asked about his decision, SSGT Roth told the reporter, “I’m over here now and have seen what it is all about. I realize that my job is here. After all, I shall have to live with myself for a lifetime.” (more…)
Pat Conroy, the Lowcountry’s Prince of Tides, passes away
Excerpts from the like titled article written by Brian Hicks and published by Post & Courier, Charleston, South Carolina, March 4, 2016. FULL ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE
Pat Conroy, the best-selling novelist and proud adoptive son of the Lowcountry who wrote lyrically about Charleston and unflinchingly about The Citadel, died Friday. He was 70.
Cadet Pat Conroy, Class of 1967
Source: The Citadel Athletics
The author of “The Great Santini,” “The Lords of Discipline” and “The Prince of Tides” and eight other books passed away shortly after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer that had gone undetected. He died at 7:43 p.m., surrounded by loved ones and family.
The Citadel mourned his passing Friday night.
“This is a very sad day for The Citadel family. Pat Conroy was a world-renowned author, active in his community and a passionate alumnus of The Citadel. He will be missed,” Lt. Gen. John Rosa, Citadel President said.
He wore The Ring (more…)
Thomas Hutson Martin, Jr., Class of 1940
This biography was written by a West Point classmate (Class of 1943) and published on the website of the West Point Association of Graduates. View the Original. In this post, photos of Cadet Martin from the 1939 Sphinx, the yearbook of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets, are included.
Thomas Hutson Martin, Jr. was that unusual combination of talents: soldier, engineer, leader, and musician. His father, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, was a native of South Carolina, as was his mother whose Scotch name of Mclnnes showed their affiliation to the Scotch Presbyterian Church. His preparation for West Point included the Charleston High School in Charleston, South Carolina, and three years at The Citadel where he rose to the rank of cadet lieutenant. With that background, it was a foregone conclusion that Hut would rise, as he did, to Second Class corporal, First Class lieutenant and Company Commander of C Company, 2d Regiment. These soldierly virtues combined with a class rank under one hundred to give Hut the berth as a Lieutenant of Engineers which he so desired.
Citadel Cadet Sergeant Thomas Hutson Martin, Jr., Class of 1940
Civil Engineering; Cadet Company “H”
1939 Sphinx, p. 100
It was not only those of us who played in the cadet orchestra who got to know the musician, for Hut was a pianist whose talents rivaled those of Teddy Wilson and Bob Zurkc. He could play from music, play by ear, and play on sight any strange accompaniment placed in front of him. A first string standout in the orchestra, he also wrote and arranged music for the (more…)
William Beattie Bendure, Class of 1946
Born on February 25, 1925, William Bendure, of Mahoning County, Ohio, graduated from Stauton Military Academy in 1942 and entered The Citadel as a freshman on August 31st with the incoming Class of 1946. He was a member of Cadet Company R, and, like many of his classmates after the academic year was out, he enlisted in the Army the summer of 1943. He later was commissioned as an infantry officer.
Cadet Private William B. Bendure
1943 Sphinx
In the ETO, he was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 376th Infantry Regiment, 94th Infantry Division. The 94th landed at Utah Beach, D+94, September 8, 1944, and moved into Brittany to assume responsibility for containing some 60,000 German troops besieged in the Channel ports of Lorient and St. Nazaire. They were relieved on New Year’s Day 1945 and moved westward taking (more…)
Vestal Malone, Class of 1945
On August 9, 1924, Vestal Malone was born in Cienfuegos, Cuba to Mrs. Claire Gerbaulet Malone and Mr. William Adolphus Malone. During his youth, he lived in Cuba, Central America, Colombia, Brazil and the Argentine where his father, an American and Power Executive developed extensive electrical programs in those countries. He graduated from Orlando Senior High in 1941 and entered The Citadel with the Class of 1945 later that year.
On November 30, 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, and after basic training joined the 106th Infantry Division at Fort Jackson, South Carolina as it prepared to deploy to the European Theater. He was assigned to Company “G”, 424th Infantry Regiment.
The 106th Division was only five days on the line when the Germans attacked it in the Schnee-Eiffel / Ardennes at the German-Belgium border on December 16, 1944. Two of the Division’s three regiments were surrounded and forced to surrender. Over 7000 GI’s of the 106th (more…)
Marion Stuckey, Class of 1945
Born Buddy Marion Skinner on September 12, 1924 in South Carolina, Marion was the adopted son of Mrs. Gussie Crosswell Stuckey and Mr. Charles Wesley Stuckey of Lee County, South Carolina. Mr. Stuckey’s listed profession in the 1940 census was farmer.
Cadet Private Marion Stuckey
Class of 1945
1943 Sphinx, p. 154
Marion Stuckey graduated from Bishopville High School and entered The Citadel at Charleston in 1941. A member of Cadet Company “O” his sophomore year (the academic year 1942-43), Cadet Stuckey was inducted into the US Army on (more…)
Hugh Vanderveer Batchelder, Class of 1945
Born in New Jersey on February 2, 1925, to Mrs. Jessie P. Hale Batchelder and Colonel Roland C. Batchelder, Hugh grew up in New Hampshire, first in Canaan, then Littleton, and finally Deerfield. He had three brothers, Theodore, Robert and George; and a sister, Jessie. His older brother, Theodore, preceded him to The Citadel by a year. Hugh’s father, Col. Batchelder, was a veteran of WWI, a 1921 graduate of Dartmouth college, a high school teacher and principal, served in the Quartermaster Corps during WWII, and later was elected to the New Hampshire state legislature.
Cadet Corporal Batchelder was a member of Cadet Company “M” his sophomore year. He was awarded Gold Stars in recognition of his superior academic achievement of earning a 3,7 grade point average or higher over a semester. He was also a member of the International Relations Club which was notable as membership for sophomores was limited to only outstanding Political Science and History majors. Following completion of the 1942-43 academic year, (more…)
John Evans James, Jr., Class of 1944
Born on September 5, 1923 to Mr. Jack E. James and Mrs. Myrtle Allen James, “Jackie” was a native of Summerton, South Carolina graduating from Summerton High School in 1940 prior to entering The Citadel with the Class of 1944. His junior year, he was a member of Cadet Company “L” as well as a member of the Second Class Rifle Drill Platoon known as the “Bond Volunteers”.
Cadet Platoon Sergeant John “Jackie” E. James, Jr., Class of 1944
September 5, 1923 – December 24, 1944
Photo source: 1943 Sphinx
After basic training and officers candidate school at Ft. Benning, Georgia, Lt. James served with Company “C” of the 264th Infantry Regiment, 66th Infantry Division having joined them at Camp Rucker, Alabama. His regiment and the 262nd Infantry Regiment were being rushed from England to the continent via (more…)
Harry Grimshaw Bowers, ’35
Born in 1914 and a native of Americus, Georgia, Harry G. Bowers graduated from The Citadel in 1935 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. He went on to the University of Georgia to study law and was the Historian of the Wilson Inn Chapter of Phi Delta Phi, the International Legal Fraternity. He obtained his law degree in 1938, was admitted to the Georgia Bar, and then practiced law in his hometown until 1940 when he entered active service with the US Army and received a commission.
Cadet Private Harry G. Bowers
Source: 1933 Sphinx
He attended Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and then served in England until October 1942. On November 8, 1942, Major Bowers went ashore in the invasion of North Africa. An Intelligence Officer with the 12th Air Force, he also participated in the landings on (more…)
A day that will live in infamy…
December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked the United States of America at Hawaii. Citadel alumni and former cadets were there. Here are portraits of four men. There were probably several more. If you are aware of another Citadel Man who was there, please inform us so we can properly include and honor him here. This post was originally written on December 7, 2015, with the stories of two men. The third story was added Dec. 7, 2017, and the fourth December, 2018.- Roger Long, ’89.
Fred Burnham Shifflet, Jr., Class of 1942, born May 23, 1919, and hailing from Cuyohoga Falls, Ohio, was a sophomore private of cadet company “A” during the 1938-39 academic year. After completing two years of college, he left The Citadel, returned home and worked as a salesman. He volunteered with the Army Air Corps, entering the service on July 26, 1940, as an aviation cadet.
Second Lieutenant Fred Shifflet, known as “Shifless”, was one of the few American pilots able to get his plane off the ground during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He took off from Wheeler Field in a P-40 which belonged to another squadron sometime after 0900. He made a circle of Pearl Harbor to seek out enemy aircraft, flew over Hickham Field and was filled with AA fire. He deadsticked his borrowed plane back to Wheeler Field to land on flat tires.
On March 3, 1943, during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, 1Lt. Shifflet piloting P-38G 41-12715, 39th Fighter Squadron, was shot down and crashed into the sea twenty miles east of Tami Island. Lt. Shifflet, who had ten enemy planes to his credit when he was lost, was officially declared dead on December 20, 1945. He is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines. There is also a cenotaph with his name at Arlington National Cemetery.
The Citadel’s Fred B. Shifflet Scholarship Fund was initiated in 1991 from the estate of his mother, Estelle M. Shifflet. The first award was made in 1997.
The photo of Cadet Shifflet is from the 1939 Sphinx, the annual of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets, Charleston, S.C., and the photo of 1Lt. Shifflet is from Relentless Pursuit: The Untold Story of the U.S. 5th Air Force’s 39th Fighter Squadron by Ken Dooley.
James Bacon King, Class of 1941, was a freshly commissioned lieutenant serving in the US Army Coastal Artillery Corps. He was stationed in Hawaii when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and his Artillery Battalion was one of the first to fire on the Japanese Zero’s as they bombed the island, and the battleships in the harbor. He survived the attack, and, fortunately, no Citadel Men were lost that day.
Lieutenant Colonel King, U.S. Army, Retired, (January 18, 1920 – November 26, 2008), graduated from The Citadel in May, 1941, with a Bachelor degree in Political Science. He was a member of the Bond Volunteers and Summerall Guards, the Junior and Senior Rifle Drill Platoons respectively. His 1941 Sphinx write-up reads… (more…)
Archelaus Augustus Drake, III, Class of 1945
Born on Christmas Day, December 25, 1923 to Mrs. Mary Blackmar Drake and Mr. Archie Drake, Jr., Archelaus “Archie” Augustus Drake, III, was a native of Macon, Georgia. He entered The Citadel at Charleston, South Carolina with the Class of 1946 at the beginning of the 1941-42 academic year. His Sophomore year, he was a Cadet Corporal and a member of Cadet Company “O”.
Cadet Corporal Archie A. Drake
Class of 1945
1943 Sphinx, p. 148.
In December that year, he like many of his classmates, enlisted in the U.S. Army. He officially entered the service after the academic year ended, and after basic training, the army sent him to their Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) at the University of Nebraska. He was assigned to 4th Platoon Company C. Two of his Citadel classmates were (more…)
Maxwell Farmer Parrott, Class of 1937
Maxwell F. Parrott was born on November 20, 1915, to Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Parrott at Arcadia, South Carolina where he spent most of his life. He attended The Citadel in Charleston, matriculating with the Class of 1937. He later transferred to Wofford College at Spartanburg, S.C., where he graduated in 1938.
Capt. Parrott served with the US Army’s 633rd AAA AW Battalion, an anti-aircraft unit outfitted with 20mm and 40mm cannons as well as double and quad .50 caliber machine gun mounts. The battalion was attached to the (more…)
The Citadel Memorial Europe 