VMI Cadet. February 11, 1952

              VOLUME XLII
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VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE, LEXINGTON, VIRGINLl, FEBRUARY 11, 1952 NUMBER 16 Marshall, Lane. Robertson Retain Posts
Valentine^s Day Theme
Dominates Midwinter
Hop Weekend Just Pa^t
Commanders Play
2nd Engagement
At VMI This Year
Sunshine and clear weather pre-dominated
throughout the past
dance weekend at the Institute.
Numerous picnics and parties were
attended by members of all classes,
who anxiously took advantage of
the brief preview of s u m m er
weather to correspond with nature.
Cadets and their dates were
ready to don hiking shoes to par-ticipate
in the rebirth of the old
mountain climbing craze. Two ath-letic
contests were also important
events of the weekend. Some eight
colleges of the state sent entries
to participate in a non-title track
meet. Those people who attended
the meet in the VMI Field House
saw VMI's Keydets win their share
of the honors. The VMI Swimming
team also was victorious this
weekend over William and Mary.
The times of these two attractions
were regulated in such a way that
cadets could take their dates to
both meets.
Colorful Dance
The VMI Commanders, under
the leadership of Ted Benson, pro-vided
the music for the dances in
Cocke "94 Hall on both Friday and
Saturday nights. Such numbers as
"Once," "Cry" and "Mixed" "Emo-tions"
were featured by the Com'
manders in their book of new ar-rangements.
Two novel renditions,
"The VMI Ring Waltz," and
Johnny Long's version of "The
Spirit," were also among the songs
heard.
Just behind the band, was a
mural painted with Valentines Day
as a theme, consisting of a girl
in red and white costume, skating
through the outline of a large red
heart. The gymnasium was decor
(Continued on page 6)
Gerhart Seger Lectures Corps
On Conditions in Germany
1st Class Civils
Hear Talk by
J. R. Henson
Thursday, 7 February, saw the
successful completion of the first
in a series of discussions on
various aspects of Personnel Re-lations
conducted by g u e st
speakers. These discussions, taking
place once a week, are part of
the course in Personal Relations
required of all 1st class Civils.
Bob Caudle, Chairman, assisted
by Mitch Mays, Sergeant at Arms, |
Bickerstaff, Long, and Meola, in-troduced
the first speaker, Mr.
John R. Henson of the Industrial
Relations Department of the Du-
Pont plant in Waynesboro, Mr.
Henson, a graduate of Lynchburg
College, where he majored in
Economics, spoke on The Import-ance
of Human Relations to the
Technical Man. He divided his
subject into ten inter-dependent
topics, such as: we all resent domi-nation,
we all want to be "in the
know", we all like a good fight,
we are all inherent sentamenta-lists,
and so on, and elaborated
in detail on each topic. His talk
was followed by a question and
answer period which was actively
participated in by the Cadets.
Mr. Henson taught school for
a while after his graduation, then
worked for Proctor and Gamble
until 1933 when he joined the
DuPont Company. He has been at
DuPont ever since,' except for
a short time when he was at Oak
Ridge, where he .was in the Per
sonnel . Relations Section. Sincej
almost all of his work has been
conniBCted with Personal or In
dustrial Relations, Mr. Henson was
well qualified to speak on his
subject.
Last Wednesday the corps had
the pri\?ilege of hearing a lecture
by Mr. Gerhart Seger, a native
of Germany, and a naturalized
American citizen. During the last
war he was interned in a concen-tration
camp. He was acquainted
with Hitler, and the impressions
of Hitler he presented to the corps
were one of the highlights of his
speech.
The topic of Mr. Seger's dis-cussion
was Germany, East and
West. This is a particularly
interesting subject during the pre-sent
time, and his talk was very
enlightening. He concerned him-self
mainly with two points: the
position of postwar Western Ger-many
in the world today, and
what the chances are of Eastern
Germany becoming voluntarily
communistic.
Industry Expanded
Under the first point Mr. Se-ger
pointed out that Western Ger-many's
industrial capacity is
above that of its highest pre-war
peak. This area is the most active
of all those receiving Marshall
Plan Aid. He said also that
Western Germany is the least
inclined toward Communism of
all the European states; the Com-munist
party received only six
percent of the total vote in recent
elections. There was also one very
interesting point which he stress-ed
a great deal. Mr. Seger said
that although there is a small
neo-nazi group in Germany, it is
now being outlawed. Therefore,
the Nazi party will not be a pre-dominant
element in German
society in the future.
Regarding the position of Eastern
Germany, Mr. Seger firmly be-lieves
that they will not go Com-munistic
voluntarily. The area of
Eastern Germany is predominant-ly
agricultural, and history has
shown that farmers do not be-lieve
in Communism. He says
they are in no position to revolt,
but they will probably put forth
passive resistance.
Mr. Seger, who is now affiliated
with the New York Times, men-tioned
to the corps some points
which are not found in the gene-ral
run of newspapers. He told
the cadets that the free states in
Europe are now in the process of
writing a democratic constitution,
forming a sequel to out own Inter^
state Commerce Act similar to our
common currency system. These
three democratic factors are esen-tial
to the unification of the states
of Europe.
Enthusiastic Response
Mr. Seiger's sense of humor and
command of American slang did
much to heighten the corp's
interest. He has lived in America
for only a short while but he
seems to have the right expression
at all times. The fact that the
cadets enjoyed his talk is shown
by the number of questions which
were asked at the end. There was
more audience participation during
ing the discussion period than at
any previous speech this year.
2nd Term Grade and Demerit Months
The following schedule of grade
and demerit months is published
for the convenience of all cadets
and parents:
GRADES
February—Saturday 1 March (5
weeks)
March—Saturday 29 March (4
weeks)
April—Saturday 3 May (4 weeks
not including Spring Furlough)
May—End of the Term (4
weeks)
DEMERITS
26 February (4 weeks)
1 April (4 weeks)
29 April (4 weeks)
27 May (4 weeks)
End of the Term (2 weeks)
Third Class Tops
Term Honor List
With Eighteen Men
Forty-five members of the corps
comprise the honor list for the
first term of the academic year
1951-1952. The group includes
four members of the first class,
11 members of the second class,
18 members of the third class,
and 12 rats.
A complete list ot cadets on
the honor list is given below.
FIRST CLASS
G. H. Carter, Jr. Va.
S. T. Greer Ala.
J. P. Hatfield Va.
T. N. Rucker Va.
SECOND CLASS
R. F. Andrews Va.
L. H. Hibbits, Jr Tenn.
T. F. Mariani Md.
G. T. Miller, Jr. Va.
K. M. Perry Miss.
R. L. Stillwell Va.
B. V. White D. C.
A. H. Williams, Jr Va.
C. H. Williams, Jr Va.
C. M. Williams Md.
K. L. Yu Mich.
THIRD CLASS
E. R. Bare Va.
J. L. Berry W. Va.
W. W. Berry Va.
E. W.- Chandler Va.
J. P. Diuguid Md.
D. W. Drennen, Jr Ala.
W. F. Dunkelberger Pa.
D. J. Dunlap Va.
J. D. P. Fuller Va.
R. E. Gee Va.
G. W. Hardy, III Ala.
F. B. Harrington Va.
R. G. Helmer, Jr, Wis.
J. Kaplan Tehn.
L. B. Massad Va.
L. O. McGovern Va.
J. A. Sanguigni Pa.
W. S. Yerger Miss.
FOURTH CLASS
•J. W. Barlow Va.
J. R. Brenner Md.
W. R. Couplnd Md.
R. E. Fitch Conn.
E. R. Griffith Ga.
C. R. Hare N. Y.
N. S. Harris Va.
R. T. Hickey 111.
D. W. Hoatson Md.
(Continued on page 6)
Colonel Pancake Delivers ^^State of the Corps'' Address
The new Spring-training pro-gram,
observations from a recent
trip to The Citadel, reasons for
the wearing of the blouse under
the overcoat, and an explanation
of the process of rank make-overs
were the principal topics
in a talk given to the corps on
Thursday night by Col. Frank R.
Pancake. The informal talk was
the result of the commandant's
plan to speak to the corps on
points of interest at least once
month.
In discussing the recent memo-randum
ordering the wearing of
the blouse under the overcoat at
all times requiring the wearing of
the dress uniform. Col Pancake
pointed out tht the overcoat was
tailored to fit over a blouse. He
reasoned that, as a result, the
lack of a blouse under the outer
garment makes the cadet look con-siderably
less military.
Hita G.C. Rule
The commandant pointed out
that his o r d ^ . h i d been prompted
by a General Conamittee decision
to allow to wear a shirt
nd tie under th« overcoat when
going uptown (providing that the
coat was not removed). He fur-ther
read a General Commuttee
rule requiring all cadets to wear
a presentable uniform when going
to class formations, stating that
class dyke standards had dropped
considerably since September.
The Spring Training program,
it was indicated, is to last from
February 19 to May 9 and is to
include instruction in calisthenics,
hand-to-hand combat, field equip-ment
display and tent pitching to
confidence course and demonstra-tion!
by the three branches of
the army R. O. T. C. at VMI. The
program will accent the utiliza-tion
of cadets, particularly second
and first classmen, as instructors.
In taking part in the calisthe-nics
portion of the program, men
will not only obtain better physi-cal
condition, but will also learn
to direct physical exercises at
the platoon and company level.
The confidence course, the com-mandant
reported is progressing
rather slowly and will be limited
financially by the $500 allotted
by the Board of Visitors.
The battalions, he added, will
be issued field equipment and all
men will learn to properly pack
a field pack, to march with it to
the parade ground where tents
will be pitched, and to properly
display the equipment for inspec-tion.
He stated that the school has
received about 66 sets of the
type of field equipment now beinp
used in Korea, and that all men
will at least see a demonstration
of its packing and display.
Army demonstrations may in-clude
small scale menuevers on
the parade ground by the Infantry,
battery demonstrations in the
coral by the Artillery, and tank
nianuevers at White's Farm by
the Armor. The corps, he assured,
will march to the latter demon-stration.
Citadel Trip
In commenting on his trip to
The Citadel, Col. Pancake informed
the corps that the 1200 cadets of
that school do not have any week-ends,
they have no honor system,
and that they must wear the uni-form
at all times during the school
year. He praised the room policing
and meal formation efficiency at the
Charleston school, but indicated
dislike for their practice of making
the overcoat an optional part of
the uniform.
Makeovers
The Colonel explained the pro-cess
of forming the rank make-over
list from the company re-commendations
to the approval
by the Superintendent of all pro-motions.
He stressed the import-ance
of academic, demerit, and
other records in determining re-lative
standing of officers.
In closing, the Commandant
praised the corps' attitude of co-operation
since his last talk be-fore
Christmas furlough, and
stated his desire to see that the
spirit continues through Finals
1952.
Special Spring
Training Schedule
Date Band A B C D E F
2/19 Cal Cal Cal Cal Cal Cal Cal
2/21 Cal Cal Cal Cal Cal Cal Cal
2/26 Cal Cal Cal H-H HE Cal C-C
2/28 &H C-C Cal Cal Cal H-H Cal
3/4 Cal Cal H-H C-C Cal Cal H-H
3/6 Cal H-H H-H Cal Cal C-C Cal
3/11 CC Cal Cal H-H Cal. Cal H-H
3/13 • Cal H-H CC Cal H-H Cal Cal
3/i8 H-H Cal Cal Cal C-C HH Cal
3/20 Cal Cal Cal H-H Cal Cal CC
3/iS H-H C-C Cal Cal Cal Cal Cal
3/26 ARTILLERY DEMONSTRATION
3/31 MEI MEI MEI MEI TP TP T-P
4/1 Cal HH C-C Cal T-P TP T-P
4/3 Cal Cal H-H CC T-P TP T-P
4/14 T-P T-P TP TP MEI MEI MEI
4/15 T-P TP TP T-P H-H C-C Cal
4/17 T-P TP T-P T-P CC Cal H-H
4/29 CC Cal Cal Cal Cal DH Cal
4/30 ARMORED DEMONSTRATION • INF. DEM.
5/6
57r
OPEN
Wti'. DllBt. • ABMbRED DE!M.
5/9 OPEN
(Cal) Calisthenics; (H-H) Hand to Hand Combat;
(C-C) Confidence Course;
(T-P) Tent Pitching; (MEI) Monday Evening inspection.
Promotions Are
Announced In
Corps of Cadets
Cadet ranks for the second
semester of the 1951-52 academic
year were announced today by the
Superintendent's office. Compris-ing
168 men, the list of appoint-ments
and promotions is as
follows:
TO BE CADET CAPTAINS
1. P. J. Marshall, Jr. Command-ing
Regiment.
2. J. W. Lane, Second Battalion.
3. D. B. Robertson, First Bat-talion.
4. T. E. O'Conner, Jr., "B" Co.
5. W. A. Thompson, "D" Co.
6. T. W. Goodloe, "E" Co.
7. C. G. Redman, "A" Co.
8. J. M. Gibson, Regimental (S-3).
9. C. S. Badgett, Regimental (S-
4).
10. W. L. Patrick, Band Co.
11. S. T. Greer, "C" Co.
12. J. W. Cure, III, Regimental
Adjutant.
13. J. R. A. Frankeberger, "F" Co.
TO BE CADET
FIRST LIEUTENANTS
1. J. F. Roche.
2. W. D. Austermann, Adjutant,
1st Bn.
3. C. F. Moore.
4. E. S. Wilbarger, Ist Bn., (S-3).
5. D. G. Janney.
6. C. J. Shoaf, Adjutant 2nd Bn.
7. H. H. Berke, 2nd Bn., (S-3).
8. G. T. Black.
9. J. H. Craven.
10. C. J. Brauner.
11. C. J. Hansrote.
TO BE CADET
SECOND LIEUTNANTS
1. B. H. Brown, Jr.
2. H. M. Allen.
3. T. K. Bleeker.
4. M. R. Mays.
5. G. A. Robison.
6. G. C. Hutter.
7. R. B. M. Hanes.
8. L. C. Delisio.
9. W. D. Kearney. ;
10. R. L. Lambert.
11. C. H. Webb, Jr.
12. T. M. Ball, Jr.
13. E. J. Wiley, Jr.
14. J. L. Finney.
15. W. F. Gilley.
16. J. S. Grumbling.
17..J. M. Stallings.
18. S. L. Wright.
19. F. S. Carlon.
20. C. L. Dorsey. .
21. W. D. Meola, (Probation).
TO BE CADET REGIMENTAL
SERGEANT MAJOR
W. H. Newton
TO BE CADET
FIRST SERGEANTS
1. C. R. Steward.
2. H. A. Johnston.
3. J. P. Prilliman.
4. P. C. Hudson.
5. R. M. Hart.
6. G. T. Miller, Jr.
7. W. W. Shorter.
TO BE CADET REGIMENTAL
SUPPLY SERGEANT
J. P. Cross, Jr.
TO BE CADET
SUPPLY SERGEANT
1. E. L. Brown, Jr.
2. J. L. McLain.
3. J. W. Trigg.
4. C. P. Weidenthal.
5. C. C. MitcheU, Jr.
6. S. G. Bell, Jr.
7. D. M. Rose.
TO BE CADET
COLOR SERGEANTS
1. R. L. StilweU.
2. J. P. Holley.
TO BE CADET SERGEANTS
1. R. R. Outland.
2. R. H. Pearce.
(Continued on page 6)