The seventh state historical marker on the Texas A&M campus was dedicated Tuesday morning.
A&M officials and the Brazos County Historical Commission unveiled a marker in front of the Academic Building recognizing the institution’s contribution during World War I.
Click below for comments from A&M archivist and Brazos County Historical Commission vice-chairman Greg Bailey, visiting with WTAW’s Bill Oliver.
Listen to “Texas A&M dedicates a seventh state historical marker” on Spreaker.
Script of the World War I historical marker at Texas A&M provided by Greg Bailey:
WORLD WAR I ALLOWED THE AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE OF TEXAS TO EXPAND BEYOND MILITARY TRAINING AND DIRECTLY CONTRIBUTE TO THE WAR EFFORT WITH STAFF AND STUDENTS VOLUNTEERING FOR SERVICE IN LARGE NUMBERS. STUDENTS FIRST SERVED FOR OTHER COUNTRIES BEFORE THE U.S. ENTERED THE WAR. AS EARLY AS SEPT.1914, GEORGES PIERRE FERDINAND JOUINE, CLASS OF 1907, ENLISTED AS A PRIVATE IN THE FRENCH ARMY. IN MAR. 1917, THE SCHOOL OFFERED THEIR PROGRAMS AND FACILITIES FOR USE DURING THE WAR. BY DEC. 1917, TAMC WAS DESIGNATED A U.S. ARMY TRAINING BASE.
ALONG WITH THE NORMAL INSTRUCTION OF ITS COLLEGE STUDENTS, THE COLLEGE BECAME A BASE FOR THREE LINES OF INTENSIVE MILITARY TRAINING. IN DEC. 1917, SOLDIERS REPORTED TO TRAIN AS RADIO MECHANICS. THEY WERE ASSIGNED TO GOODWIN HALL AS THEIR BARRACKS, AND RECEIVED TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING. THE SERVICE TRAINING DETACHMENT OF MECHANICS AND TECHNICIANS WAS IN OPERATION BY SUMMER OF 1918. THE THIRD AREA OF TRAINING WAS IN THE SIGNAL CORPS SCHOOL OF METEOROLOGY, ESTABLISHED IN MAY 1918 TO TRAIN MEN FOR AVIATION, GAS AND FLAME ATTACKS, BOMBING EXPEDITIONS AND MANY OTHER MILITARY AND NAVAL OPERATIONS. THE SCHOOL OPERATED OUT OF THE CIVIL ENGINEERING BUILDING AND WAS THE ONLY ONE OF ITS KIND AMONG ALLIED NATIONS DURING THE WAR.
WITH THE U.S. CALLING ON THE MALE FACULTY TO SERVE, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE COLLEGE’S HISTORY WOMEN SERVED ON THE FACULTY, TEACHING BOTANY AND FRENCH. DESPITE AN INFLUENZA OUTBREAK IN SEPT. 1918, THE COLLEGE AND COMMUNITY CONTINUED THEIR SUPPORT THROUGH LIBERTY BOND DRIVES AND INCREASING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION UNTIL THE WAR ENDED. MORE THAN 2,200 AGGIES SERVED, WITH AT LEAST 62 MAKING THE SUPREME SACRIFICE FROM A DEDICATED COMMUNITY OF STUDENTS, FACULTY AND CITIZENS DURING A TIME OF WAR.
Remarks at the historical marker dedication provided by Greg Bailey:
Howdy! Thank you for joining us this morning. First I want to thank the Corps of Cadets Association as they there the ones that generously funded this marker. I am going to try to keep this relatively short, as there is a slip nip in the air.
Two days ago we celebrated the 100th Anniversary of the Armistice of 1918, ending hostilities between the Allied Nations and Germany. Today we dedicate this Texas Historical Commission Marker, commemorating the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas’ involvement in the Great War.
With the ever increasing likelihood of the United States entering the war, the faculty of the College called a meeting on March 21, 1917 and unanimously passed a resolution asking the Board of Directors and State Legislature to offer the faculty and facilities to the Federal Government. Two days later President William Bennett Bizzell presented the resolution to the Board of Directors, who in turn unanimously voted in favor of the resolution. In essence Texas AMC had declared war on Germany. A little over a week later on April 6th the United States Congress voted to declare war on Germany.
Later that spring word reached campus that the National Council of Defense had selected the College as one of six schools that would train a unit of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. President Bizzell also announced that the Senior class was excused from further class duties to enter the Officer Training Camp at Camp Funston, Leon Springs, Texas. On June 3rd a ceremony was held at Camp Funston where 73 of the senior class of 133 was stationed. An additional 13 had entered the Marine Corps and four the navy.
In December the first of three lines of specialized training for the U.S. Army began on campus as soldiers of the Signal Corps arrived to train as radio mechanics. The Service Training Detachment of Mechanics and Carpenters was in operations by the summer of 1918 and in May 1918 the Signal Corps School of Meteorology, the only one of its kind among the allied nations, opened at College. More than 4000 men would train in these programs.
Faculty, staff, and students would heed the call of the nation and enter service. This resulted in the addition of the first women to the College’s faculty, while also seeing more than 2,200 Aggies serving the country, many as junior officers.
The College also had a far reaching effect on the state as the Agricultural Extension Service worked diligently to increase food production, while also coming up with ways to conserve food and lower consumption on the home front.
In the end the College saw 62 of her sons make the ultimate sacrifice.
Thank you for joining us today to commemorate the commitment and sacrifices the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas made to world in the defense of freedom.