DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the Main Drill Field at Texas A&M University. Now, there are places on this earth that hold more history per square foot than most counties hold in their entirety. The Main Drill Field at Texas A&M University is one of those places.
Let me walk you through it. Texas A&M opened in October of 1876, and from the very beginning, the school had a Congressional mandate to teach military tactics. To fulfill that, the university established the Corps of Cadets.
Every student at what was then an all-male institution was required to serve in the Corps and live by military discipline. And right at the heart of it all, the beating center of both Corps life and campus life, was the Main Drill Field. Now think about what that open ground has seen.
Cadets drilling before classes, drilling after classes. Horse-drawn artillery rolling across it. Infantry exercises.
And then, come the 1920s, student pilot training. Up in the air, right there above that same stretch of ground. It also served as the university's early football field, before a permanent field was constructed in 1905.
The Aggie Bonfire, one of the great traditions of that institution, was held right on the Main Drill Field from 1909 all the way until 1955. Graduations, Final Reviews, the Corps assembled in full. That ground soaked up decades of ceremony and sweat and pride.
But then comes the part of this story that asks you to slow down and pay attention. In 1920, A&M's Board of Directors paid tribute to the former cadets who had been killed during World War I. They planted oak trees around the field.
And at each tree, they placed a marker, giving the name, the class, and the site and date of death for each man. Oak trees as monuments. Each one standing for a life given.
The classes of 1923, 1924, 1925, and 1926 went further. Together, those four classes placed a granite memorial to the war casualties on the west side of the drill field. Stone and roots and memory, all gathered in one place.
That field was later named for Lieutenant General Ormond R. Simpson, a distinguished alumnus of A&M. Simpson graduated in 1936 with a degree in mechanical engineering, and then he went out and served his country through World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.
He retired from military service in 1972, and then he came back to A&M, serving as Assistant Vice-President for Student Services and head of the School of Military Sciences. He stayed at the university until retiring in 1985, and that same year, the field was named in his honor. The Main Drill Field, the marker tells us, is a testament to the school's beginnings as a military and academic institution, and a symbol of Aggies' service to their state and nation.
From horse-drawn artillery to oak trees planted for the fallen, every inch of that ground has a story. And now you know the one the marker tells.
What the marker says
Texas A&M University opened in October 1876 and established the Corps of Cadets to fulfill its Congressional mandate to teach military tactics. The students at what was then an all-male institution were required to serve in the corps and follow military discipline. At the center of the Corps and campus activity was the Main Drill Field, where cadets drilled and practiced maneuvers before and after classes. The site of horse-drawn artillery and infantry exercises, as well as student pilot training in the 1920s, the open parade ground also served as the university's early football field prior to construction of a permanent field in 1905. The Aggie Bonfire was held on the Main Drill Field from 1909 until 1955, and students assembled for drills and graduation activities, including the Corps' Final Review. In 1920, A&M's Board of Directors paid tribute to former cadets killed during World War I by planting oak trees around the field. Markers at each tree provided the name, class and site and date of death for each man. The classes of 1923, 1924, 1925 and 1926 placed a granite memorial to the war casualties on the west side of the drill field, which was later named for A&M distinguished alumni Lieutenant General Ormond R. Simpson, a 1936 mechanical engineering graduate of the university. After serving in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, Simpson retired in 1972 and became A&M's Assistant Vice-President for Student Services and head of the School of Military Sciences. He served at the university until retiring in 1985, the year the field was named in his honor. A&M's Main Drill Field is a testament to the school's beginnings as a military and academic institution, as well as a symbol of Aggies' service to their state and nation. (2004)