Founded in 1839, VMI is a state-supported military college. Prior to and during the Civil War, VMI trained many men of the Confederate States Officer Corps. Several VMI graduates fought on the side of the Union as well. On 14 different occasions, cadets were turned out to fight as a unit for the South.
One of the more recent VMI graduates was Gen. George C. Marshall, the Army’s first 5-star general and creator of the Marshall Plan following WWII.
Statue of Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, ironically under the flag that he did not serve. Jackson became a member of VMI’s faculty in 1851.
The barracks. Note the sentry guarding the entrance, a 24-hour per day duty. And the motto: “You may be whatever you resolve to be”, attributed to Stonewall Jackson.
Parade of the 1,400+ cadets began with some senior leaders.
And VMI has a Pipes and Drum Corps! Some of the pipers are first-year men, presumably unfamiliar with bagpipes when they arrived at VMI two months ago.
The brass contingent of the band
More of the pipers
Cadets with their unmodified M-14 rifles and fixed bayonets. By tradition, because the cadets had fought in battle as a unit during the Civil War, they have the right to drill with fixed bayonets.
My nephew Mark, who serves in the color guard.
Shots of the cadets on parade were made using the Nikon 70-300mm/4.5-5.6 zoom. I also made a panorama shot of the cadets drawn up in formation, using five pictures and Microsoft ICE, but it is much too wide to present here. ICE works great.
It was a fine day. I’m proud to say that America preserves such traditions, and produces young men and women who strive to master the military disciplines.
Thanks for viewing.
