VMI Cadet. May 17, 1963

              See
Editorial
Page 4
Volume LII Virginia Military Institute. Lexington, Virginia, May 17, 1963 Number
VMI Honors New Market Dead
X X X X X
Basketball Series
(
Punch by Alvis
K.O.'s Rivah y
In a letter sent to VMI
Athletic Director Duke El-lington,
Virginia Polytechnic
Institute has formally propos-ed
that the series of VMI-VPI
games played in Lexing-ton
come to a close.
It is assumed that this is the
final precipitate of a clash between
the two schools over a minor in-cident
occurring before the VMI-VPI
basketball game in Lexington
this year, where VP! guard Frank
Alvis knocked out VMI bandsman
Duane Williams with a punch Wil-liams
could not see coming.
Tech Athletic Director Frank
Moseley does not wish the VMI-VPI
series to end completely, how-ever,
as he has requested that
there be only one game played in
coming years—AT BLACKSBURG.
Ellington would give no com-ment
to the CADET on what ac-tion
would be taken, but informed
sources in Lexington feel that the
proposal will be rejected, thus end-ing
the rivalry completely. The
final decision will be made by the
Superintendent near the end of
May. He will base this on the find-ings
of the Athletic Council at
VMI, which is meeting May 28.
As the offer now stands, VMI will
receive a $1,000 guai-antee to play
the one night in Blacksburg in the
Tech Coliseum.
In an interview to the Roanoke
TIMES Moseley stated: "We feel
like we should not return to Lex-ington
next year, and that's what
we told VMI in the letter.
"We are not trying to cut off
the home and away series com-pletely.
We feel that it should
simply be curtailed until the high
feeling subsides. Perhaps in a few
years we can resume playing in
Lexington. We would like to see
the rivalry preserved,"
Governor And
Budget Staff
Inspect VMI
On Wednesday, May 15, among
other things, The Honorable Al-bertis
S. Harrison and his budget
advisory committee visited the
Post to ascertain information per-tinent
to the school's budget for
the 1964-1966 biennium.
The Governor's Advisor>' Com-mittee
is composed of members of
the State legislature and the state
budget department. In addition,
there were also members of the
press and one member of the
Board of Visitoi^.
For the past week, the Gover-nor
and his committee have been
visiting various state schools in an
effort to ascertain their needs for
the coming biennium.
While on his half-day visit, the
Governor and his entourage first
visited barracks and various other
(Continued on Page 2)
With VPI May End
I
Parade Honors
L X r C d t a N C L JEFFREY G. SMITH
In July of 1960 Lieutenant Col-onel
Jeffrey Greenwood Smith re-turned
as Commandant of Cadets
and Professor of Military Sciejice
to the institution from which he
had been graduated seventeen
years 'earlier. During the years
which intervened between his ten-ure
as a cadet here and his return
to VMI, Coldnel Smith saw dutj* as
a regular Army officer, acting in
myriad. capacitiM and serving as-signments
in numerous areas of
the world. His earliest assignment
was with the 124th Cavalry Regi-ment
in Burma and later in the
China Theater. Subsequently, back
in the States, Colonel Smith served
as a company commander at the
Infantry School, Fort Benning,
Ga.; as aide-de-camp to Gieneral
Wtihers A. Burrus; and later, as
a test officer at the Arctic Test
Board in Alaska. In 1951 he was
graduated from the Infantry
School, and in 1954 from the Com-mand
and General Staff College.
These sissignments were followed
by tours, txrst at the headquarters
of the Continental Army Com-mand,
and then as the commander
of the 2nd Armored Rifle Batta-lion_
54th. Infantry, at Fort Knox,
Ky. Mid 1959 found the colonel a
fresh graduate of the Armed
Forcess Staff College and newly
bound for Korea as a senior mem-ber
of the U.N. Joint Observer
Teams of the Military Armistice
Conunission. TiUs was his last as-signment
before coming to VMI.
Few people who are acquainted
with Col. Smith fail to recognize
the fact that he is a highly intelli-gent
person, but there are not
many who are aware of the extent
to which he has mixed academics
with a military career. When a
Commandant Ends Three Year
Tour With Improvements Seen
cadet here at VMI, Col. Smith was
a Civil Engineering major, and
was academically distinguished all
foiu- years of his cadetship; in ad-dition,
he received the coveted
First Jackson Hope Medal for
highest scholastic achievement. He
later continued his academic en-deavors
by earning his Master's De-gre
in Mechanical Engineering
from Johns Hopkins University in
1949. It was not all books with Col.
Smith during his cadetship, how-ever,
for he rose to the rank of
cadet captain and also won the
Harry N. Cootes Trophy, as the
outstanding cadet in C a v a l ry
ROTC, and the ROTC Medal for
highest proficiency in leadership,
military bearing, and general ex-cellence
in the Corps of Cadets.
When he first arrived here. Col.
Smith outlined for himself a num-ber
of objectives which would
serve as a basis for the policies
he would make as commandant of
cadets. Among the goals which he
originally saw as having the greats
est significance with the Corps at
the time were an increased sense
of discipline, better general ap-pearance
among individual cadets,
and an increased awareness of
military courtesy. If this, along
with an increased interest among
cadets in the regular Army as a
career could be achieved, it would
seem that VMI had made some im-portant
steps forward. While he
is not one-hundred-percent satis-fied
that all ipossible progress to-wards
these goals has been made,
Col. Smith feels that there have
been definite steps forward, steps
which, no doubt, will be continued
in the future.
There are a number of things
(Continued on Page 2)
Hop Committee
Elects Officers
The 1963-64 Hop Committee un-der
the leadership of its newly
elected officers has already begun
to line up a new program for next
year.
The committee, headed by its
new president, Donald Duane Car-son,
plans to have Lloyd Price and
his orchestra and the Drifters for
Openings on October 11-12. The
Ring Figure wekend will highlight
Count Basie and his orchestra.
"The committee plans to sponsor
several concertos and hopeis to
have the Lettermen for a second
appearance. Several informal hops
are also on the slate for next year.
Other newly elected officers in-clude
Charles Truman Benedict,
Vice President; Gary Thomas
Thrasher, Treasurer; Charles Les-ter
Shumate, Business Manage.r;
and James Michael Watkins III,
Publicity Manager.
Don Carson, the new president,
is a second classman from Din-widdle,
Virginia and a history ma-or.
At present, Don is a corporal
in F Company. He has participated
in many and varied activities at
VMI including: rat track, intra-murals.
the Armed Force Club of
which he was chairman his third
class year, the Ranger Unit, and
the 1964 Party Committee repre-sentative.
Don is also the leader
of his own combo, "The Avantis."
Bud Benedict is a C. E. major,
a member of the Rifle Team, and
the Monogram Club.
Gary Thrasher is also a C. E., as
well as a member of the Salute
Detail and the ASCE. Gary has
been on the Hop and Floor Com-mittee!
for the past two years.
Charlie Shumate is a History
Major from Fairfax, Va. Charlie
and in addition to being Busi-ness
Manager for the Hop Com-mittee,
is also the President of
the Northern Virginia Club and a
member of the Bomb Staff and the
(Continued on Page 3)
Fallen Cadets
To the strains of a song mean-ing
everything to those of the
deep South, "Dixie." the VMI
Corps of Cadets passed in review
in observance of the ninty-ninth
anniversary of the Battle of New
Market.
The scene in 1864 was one of de-spair,
as a young, but ready, cadet
corps was called out in the hope-less
task of stopping the surging
Federal forces from their decima-tion
of the Shenandoah Valley.
The battle site was a natural one
—the crossroads in a small, out-of-
the-way town named New Mar-ket,
Virginia. Here the VMI Corps
of Cadets sprang a surprising
charge on Union troops and won
the day. temporarily halting tha
inevitable defeat that was to be the
fate of the South.
Wednesday it was only fitting
and proper that once again VMI
oadets should take to-the field;
but this time it was for respectful
homage, rather than brutal com-bat.
The memorial service started al
three forty-five in the afternoon, a
surprise to the many townspeople
w'ho had thought it would begin
at the usual four o'clock time.
However, the spectators finally ar-rived
and had the opportunity to
review the parade in all its color.
Afiter forming on the parade
ground, the Corps heard the or-ders
explaining New Market and a
prayer by the Chaplain presented.
Then a rifle salute was'fired by
a cadet battery in honor of tha
fallem cadets from VMI and a
three part, echo effect "Taps" was
played by cadet buglers from the
Regimental Band.
A wreath placed on the statue
of "Virgina Mourning Her Dead,"
a ston^ tribute to those who lost
their lives at New Market, proved
a colorful background to the Corps
passing in review. As one after
another of the companies present-
(Contiuned on Page 2)
NEWLY ELECTED MEMBERS of the VMI Hop Cominitt«e are,
(left to right) Gary Thrasher, Treasurer; Charles Shumate, Busi-ness
Manager; Don Carson, President; Buddy Benedict, Vice-
President; Jim Watkins, Publicity Manager.