[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 189 (Friday, November 30, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1583]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    THE FIGHTIN' TEXAS AGGIE CORPS OF CADETS: 142 YEARS OF TRADITION

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                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, November 30, 2018

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Texas A&M University opened its doors 
to 40 students in 1876 as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of 
Texas. Created under The Morrill Act, which stipulated that all 
students participate in military training, all Texas A&M students (at 
that time, admission was limited to white males) were members of the 
Corps of Cadets.
  Aggies have been serving with honor in the armed forces since the 
Spanish American War of 1898. During the Spanish American War, 89 
Aggies served in the Army, and 63 Aggies served as officers. When the 
United States became involved in World War I, 702 A&M graduates served 
in the military, and 668 graduates were officers. Texas A&M also 
trained over 4,000 troops during World War I.
  It was World War II, however, when Texas A&M exhibited its expertise 
in training soldiers as well as scholars. On December 7, 1941, students 
were watching a movie at the Campus Theatre. Upon hearing about the 
Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, the theater manager shut off the film 
projector to announce the attack. ``Beat the Hell out of Japan'' became 
a rallying cry across campus, encouraging students to enlist. In order 
to speed up the process of sending more Aggies to the front lines of 
the war, Texas A&M instituted a twelve-month, three semester training 
program to prepare its soldiers. According to an article in the Houston 
Post in November 1942, courses were scheduled 24 hours a day to prevent 
crowding in workshops and laboratories. Notably, the entire graduating 
classes of 1941 and 1942 enlisted in the armed services immediately 
following graduation.
  One of these individuals was Arthur Lowell Lapham. Mr. Lapham was a 
fourth generation Texan and a proud Fightin' Texas Aggie who enlisted 
on June 30, 1942. He would go on to fight for the United States in the 
Pacific Theater, serving as a fighter pilot in the Army Air Force in 
Japan and the Philippines. Mr. Lapham was one of 20,000 Aggies who 
served in World War II. 14,000 of these men were officers and twenty-
nine were commissioned as generals. Close to 1,000 Aggies died in 
combat for this great nation; seven Aggies were awarded the Medal of 
Honor.
  Membership in the Corps of Cadets is now voluntary at Texas A&M 
however, the university continues its tradition of training men and 
women to serve their country through military service. To this day, 
Texas A&M is the largest provider of military officers outside of the 
service academies.
  General George S. Patton once said, ``Give me an army of West Point 
graduates, and I'll win a battle. Give me a handful of Texas Aggies, 
and I'll win a war.''
  And that's just the way it is.

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