Two Units, F-1 & SQ-1 Reactivated
Growth Prompts Corps To Add
When two units of the Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets were reactivated for the start of the spring semester in response to the corps’ growth, it was a time for celebration and reflection. Navy Capt. Michael D. T. Edwards (Ret.), a 1979 graduate, contributed to both in presenting a partial legacy of his reactivated unit, recounting how many of its hundreds of former members went on to excel in various pursuits — and how some died in service to their country.
Edwards, who became a high-ranking officer in the Navy even though naval service was not always the major corps factor that it is today, was a member of Squadron 1, an Air Force ROTC unit. Its history is not too different from all the other 36 units in the corps — other than it is the only one known to have “borrowed” Bevo and paraded the UT mascot around the circle in front of the Texas A&M president’s campus home.
A similar reactivation ceremony was held for Company F-1, a Navy-Marine unit that carries the “Finest First” moniker. William M. “Bill” Stough, a 1960 Texas A&M graduate and former F-1 cadet, spoke on behalf that unit.
Corps Commandant and Army Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Joe E. Ramirez, Jr., spoke at both ceremonies and said more units will be reactivated if the corps continues to grow. It increased its strength by 176 cadets when the current school year began last fall and now has 2,030 young men and women in its ranks.
In addition to noting the Bevo hijinks, Capt. Edwards succinctly capsuled the flavor of some of the former cadets of “Huslin’ One,” as the unit has historically been known.
“I made the ultimate sacrifice while searching for downed pilots over Cambodia during my second tour,” Edwards said in speaking for one of the deceased former members of Squadron 1. While not personally identifying him, Edwards left no doubt that he knew who that warrior was by continuing the “observation” on behalf the former cadet by noting “the Corps of Cadets Baldridge Award for the ‘best drilled outfit’ is named after me.”In speaking for another former Huslin’ One member, Edwards said: “I was a Marine captain wounded in a Vietnam minefield and was medically retired. I learned 40 years later that the CH-46 pilot that rescued me was a ‘fish bud.’” That notation means they were freshman buddies in the Corps.
When two units of the Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets were reactivated for the start of the spring semester in response to the corps’ growth, it was a time for celebration and reflection. Navy Capt. Michael D. T. Edwards (Ret.), a 1979 graduate, contributed to both in presenting a partial legacy of his reactivated unit, recounting how many of its hundreds of former members went on to excel in various pursuits — and how some died in service to their country.Edwards, who became a high-ranking officer in the Navy even though naval service was not always the major corps factor that it is today, was a member of Squadron 1, an Air Force ROTC unit. Its history is not too different from all the other 36 units in the corps — other than it is the only one known to have “borrowed” Bevo and paraded the UT mascot around the circle in front of the Texas A&M president’s campus home.
A similar reactivation ceremony was held for Company F-1, a Navy-Marine unit that carries the “Finest First” moniker. William M. “Bill” Stough, a 1960 Texas A&M graduate and former F-1 cadet, spoke on behalf that unit.
Corps Commandant and Army Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Joe E. Ramirez, Jr., spoke at both ceremonies and said more units will be reactivated if the corps continues to grow. It increased its strength by 176 cadets when the current school year began last fall and now has 2,030 young men and women in its ranks.
In addition to noting the Bevo hijinks, Capt. Edwards succinctly capsuled the flavor of some of the former cadets of “Huslin’ One,” as the unit has historically been known.
“I made the ultimate sacrifice while searching for downed pilots over Cambodia during my second tour,” Edwards said in speaking for one of the deceased former members of Squadron 1. While not personally identifying him, Edwards left no doubt that he knew who that warrior was by continuing the “observation” on behalf the former cadet by noting “the Corps of Cadets Baldridge Award for the ‘best drilled outfit’ is named after me.”In speaking for another former Huslin’ One member, Edwards said: “I was a Marine captain wounded in a Vietnam minefield and was medically retired. I learned 40 years later that the CH-46 pilot that rescued me was a ‘fish bud.’” That notation means they were freshman buddies in the Corps. Another former member of the unit went on be the senior navigator on Air Force One and another practiced law before the U.S. Supreme Court, Edwards recounted in his remarks. To see pertinent excerpts from Capt. Edwards’ remarks denoting the experiences and accomplishments of a few of the other former Squadron 1 members, go here. For more photos of the Squadron 1 reactivation ceremony, visit here; additional photos of the Company F-1 ceremony can be found here.
Reprinted from TAMU Times.
Top photo: Cadets participate in the Company F-1 reactivation ceremony.
Bottom photo: Capt. Michael D. T. Edwards (Ret.) addresses the crowd at the Squadron 1 reactivation ceremony.
Photos: Annette Walker
