Thirty-five Years Later...

I am an Aggie! If you cut me, I will bleed maroon and white. In August of 1973, I left for College Station with my good friends, Steve Burch and Roger Freeman. Steve and I went on to become "old ladies" in the Fightin' Texas Aggie Corps of Cadets...but that's a story for another day. In November of 1974, I formed up with the rest of my outfit, Squadron 12 (Trojan 12!) and marched for what was my last time, into and around Kyle Field. I did not realize it would be my last march-in, but the following fall, finances forced me to transfer to UTA, where I received a B.S. degree in Limnology. I suppose, had I known that it would be my last march-in, I would have drunk in the sights and the sounds and tried to freeze them in my memory. I would have captured the sounds of the Corps and the steady, rhythmic beat of left heels hitting the pavement in time with the bass drums of the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band! I would have frozen the smell and the sounds of the horses and riders from Parson's Mounted Cavalry. But most of all, I would have locked away the amazing feeling that I got as we entered Kyle Field. I can almost hear the command, "Eyes...Right!" and see the snap of the guidon as it is raised and then snapped forward. If I had only known!

However, as Paul Harvey would say, "Now for the rest of the story!" Anita had a dentist appointment with Steve Burch...yes he and his wife Troie moved to Allen the same year we did and he has been our dentist for the past 29 years. Steve asked if we would like to drive down to College Station for the game on Saturday. She said she would talk with me and we would call them back. Steve then said, "If Clint would like to march-in with the Former Corps of Cadets Association, he and I can do that." When Anita asked if I would like to do that, it took at least a second to answer, "Yes!" As I have thought about it this week, I am so thankful that once again, I will get to experience the thrill of marching into Kyle Field with the rest of the Corps. As the poem, The Last Corp Trip, says, "Form up boys, we'll march in behind the band!"

For the uninitiated let me tell you several things about Texas A&M -

• It is the oldest public university in the State;
• Texas A&M has provided more military officers who have served this country, than all three service academies combined;
• Texas A&M has produced more Medal of Honor winners than any other college in the U.S.;
• Texas A&M manages the largest engineering and agricultural extension and education program of any in the world;
• In terms of practical, hands-on applied science and engineering, Texas A&M stands alone.

I am sure this means little to most people. In fact, I like to say that for those who do not understand what it means to be an Aggie, nothing I have said will make you understand; however, for those of you who do understand, I need say nothing! There really is only one word...WHOOP! Gig 'em Aggies!