HomeMy WebLinkAboutWWII Prog A&MA&M COLLEGE of TEXAS
CORPS OF CADETS
“Texas A&M is of course one of the oldest military schools in the country. They have about as fine a reputation in the field as anyone.” Maj. Gen. Wood Kyle, '36
Texas A&M was an integral part of World War II from the visit of President Roosevelt in 1937 to the address of General Dwight D. Eisenhower at muster ceremony in 1946 -- both respected
men visiting the A&M campus. Following President Roosevelt's visit, $2 million was spent at A&M to expand facilities to yearly house, train and feed 7,000 cadets.
In all, more Aggies were on active duty than the combined total of VMI (Virginia Military Institute), Clemson, and the Citadel. Aggies served in every theater of the war furnishing
more officers than West Point: 29 in the rank of general. Seven former cadets received the nation's highest decoration for valor, the Medal of Honor. Ten Aggies were confirmed air
aces. But the toll was great. Some 953 former cadets were killed.
"The military contribution of A&M during World War II was the most important single accomplishment of the college. The military service of 20,000 Aggies, 14,000 of them commissioned
officers, overshadows all else," declared Edwin Kyle, former Dean of Agriculture, in 1950.
Barbara Donalson Althaus
Bryan, Texas
Aggies in the Marines
"Aggies from the classes of 1935 and 1936 provided remarkable leadership roles in the Marine Corps," says Al Kyle, son of General Wood Kyle '36. "Out of the eight people from those two
classes, five made general, and two of them -- Hollis Mustain and Ed Hamilton -- never had an opportunity to come up.”
“You might be interested to know about some of the people who graduated from Texas A&M. It is a kind of a remarkable record for a school," says Major General Wood Kyle '36 in an oral
interview in 1969.
Back in the days of the Depression, the Army had a program taking in about a thousand ROTC students a year. Starting in 1935 the Marine Corps began to build up officer strength anticipating
World War II and got permission from the Army to get some officers out of their ROTC units. So in ’35 we had roughly 100 from the ROTC units who came into the Marine Crops. Four of
those came out of Texas A&M, and three made general in the Marine Corps: Bruno Hochmuth, Ray Murray, Odell "Tex" Conley, and Ormond Simpson. The next year - 1936 - A&M had four again:
Ormond Simpson and Wood Kyle attained the rank of general.
Regarding General Hochmuth, Wood Kyle took over from him as Commander General of the 3rd Marine Division, following his death. General Murray attended Wood's funeral. They were good
friends to the end.
Albert S. Kyle, BSEE Duke, MBA, MPA Harvard
Andover, Massachusetts
WWII Prog A&M & WWII