May 15, 2017

This series explores Texas A&M history. In honor of the centennial of the U.S. involvement in World War I, we take a journey back 100 years to what life was like on campus during this tumultuous time. 

This year marks the centennial of the U.S. entering World War I. With World War I raging in Europe and U.S. involvement not far behind, “war fever” spread rapidly on the campus of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. In anticipation, Texas A&M became the first college in the country to offer its facilities and equipment to the government for war training. From that point until the war ended in November 1918, the campus was in full-blown “war mode.”

When the U.S. officially declared war on Germany in April 1917, cadets were eager to join the war efforts. The university administration excused nearly all of the class of 1917 and other students from classes so that they could enter an officer training course at Camp Funston (later redesignated Camp Stanley), in Leon Springs, Texas. Graduation was also relocated to the training camp that year, and the faculty handed out Honor War Certificates, which did not serve as diplomas, but were given to students in good academic standing.

Approximately 2,000 students from the A&M College marched off to war. Sixty of them never returned, making the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

A Campus Caught Up in War Fever

During the war, the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas served as a federal army training base. By September 1918, it had trained 4,000 soldiers in specialized skills such as auto mechanics, radio signaling, meteorology, horseshoeing, blacksmithing, carpentry, surveying and topographical drafting. Cadets were getting their normal schooling at an accelerated rate with direct ties to what was going on in the war. Simultaneously, thousands of regular army soldiers were undergoing training on campus.

In the early 20th century, the U.S. Army was small compared to the mobilizations of the European powers. When war was declared, President Woodrow Wilson drafted the Selective Service Act, which allowed the federal government to raise an army for the U.S. entry into World War I through a compulsory military draft.  

Texas A&M was already the largest military college in the nation, and even larger than the service academies. Nearly 50 percent of all graduates of the college from the beginning to the end of the war participated as soldiers—the highest percentage of any college or university in the country. For the students who remained on campus, military instruction was increased to 10 hours per week and they were soon joined by regular army inductees.

  • Auto Mechanics Instruction

    The college trained not only students, but soldiers for the War Department. Training included auto mechanics, as shown in the photo.

  • Lt. Jesse Easterwood '09

    Lt. Jesse Easterwood, Class of 1909, was among the first pilots to receive training as a naval aviator and see combat in Europe.

  • Airplane Engineering

    Aviation was first used in combat during World War I. The Animal Husbandry Pavilion, where this photo was taken, was used to store planes on campus during the war. The planes were used for mechanical work and to attempt to mount radio signaling equipment in them. Photo courtesy of Cushing Memorial Library.

  • Plane in Academic Plaza

    During the early stages of preparing for training, the campus was short on radio supplies and the Army flew these materials to campus.

  • Horseback Cavalry Units

    Horses were still used in cavalry units during combat in World War I, so it was important to have soldiers who knew how to care for the animals' wellbeing. At the time, there was a small percentage of men known as "farriers" who were trained to shoe horses.

  • Specialized Skills

    During the war, the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas served as a federal army training base. By September 1918, it had trained 4,000 soldiers in specialized skills such as auto mechanics, radio signaling, meteorology, horseshoeing, blacksmithing, carpentry, surveying and topographical drafting. This image is from radio signaling training that was conducted through the electrical engineering department.

Remembering the Fallen

Service flags were first introduced in 1917 by U.S. Army Captain Robert L. Queisser in honor of his two sons who were serving in World War I. The flags quickly became popular with the public and organizations adopted them, creating larger versions of the traditional flags flown in homes. Traditionally, they had a white field with a red border and a blue star for each person serving in the conflict. A gold star replaced the blue star when someone died in service. About half of the Aggies who died during WWI were lost in combat. The remaining were lost to airplane accidents and influenza. 

Texas A&M’s own wool muslin service flag measures approximately 12 feet 10 inches by 25 feet and has an estimated 1,963 maroon stars and 50 gold stars. For some time after the war ended, records stated that 50 Aggie soldiers died in battle but five additional fallen soldiers from Texas A&M were later discovered. According to campus lore, the Texas A&M service flag was sewn in the students’ tailor shop in the basement of the Academic Building. In recent years, five more former students were identified who died during the great war, bringing the total to 60 Gold Star Aggies. On May 29 of this year, a local WWI committee will hold a short ceremony honoring the Gold Star Aggies, including the newly found five.

The service flag was first raised in May 1918 and hung from the fourth-floor rotunda of the Academic Building for 25 years. When the flag was blown down in 1943, it was deemed too fragile to exhibit again. It was stored in a closet in the Academic Building and forgotten until 1970 when James. B. Jones ’71 discovered it while cleaning out a closet in the math department. Jones gave the flag to The Association of Former Students, and it was briefly exhibited in the Memorial Student Center in 1976 before being donated to the University Archives, where it is stored in a climate-controlled environment.

In 1920, Live Oak trees were planted around what is now known as Simpson Drill Field. During a simple ceremony in February of that year, they were dedicated as living monuments to the Aggies who paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country. Markers that listed the name, class year, site and date of death of the fallen Aggies were added to the trees later.

  • Texas A&M's WWI Service Flag

    Texas A&M’s own wool muslin service flag measures approximately 12 feet 10 inches by 25 feet and has an estimated 1,963 maroon stars and 50 gold stars.

  • Rolling Out the Flag

    In 2013, Texas A&M's original WWI service flag was unfurled at the headquarters of The Association of Former Students.

  • Gold Book

    The Gold Book takes its name from the gold stars used to recognize the sacrifice of family members of servicemen who died during the war. It gives a brief biography of the forty-nine known (at the time of publication) AMC students and former students who gave their lives in service to their country.

  • Cushing Library Artifacts

    The exhibition featured medals, dog tags, uniforms, books, diaries, letters, photographs, posters and artifacts from the Ragan Military History Collection housed at Cushing Library, as well as materials on loan from private collectors.

  • Gas Mask Instructions

    These instructions guided soldiers on the proper use of gas mask equipment to protect themselves from poison gas attacks.

  • Wartime Music

    The 2014 Cushing Memorial Library and Archives exhibit included music records with inspiring wartime songs.

  • Cushing Exhibit Posters

    The exhibition documented the experience of those involved in World War I—American, British, French and German participants alike. Here an observer looks at propaganda posters during the WWI-era.

  • Tree Markers

    The tree marker for Jesse Easterwood is the second-generation version of the marker. This marker was put up in April 1919 at a rededication ceremony, after Easterwood died in Panama when the plane he was flying crashed.

  • Will Abney Tree Marker

    This marker was one of the original ones placed on Live Oak trees around Simpson Drill Field. Abney died at Camp Upton, New York, from pneumonia combined with influenza.

  • Norman Crocker

    A tree marker honoring Norman G. Crocker, Class of 1916, was among the second generation of markers. Crocker was the first Aggie to die during WWI when the troop transport he was on was torpedoed by a German U-boat in the Irish Sea.

  • Gas Mask

    World War I was the first time chemical warfare was used. Cushing Library's collection includes a corrected English Model (CEM) gas mask. This was an American refinement of an English gas mask and was produced beginning in October 1917. A haversack was used to carry the CEM at all times. When the mask was being used, the haversack carried the filter box.

  • Knife

    This Gurkha knife was standard issue to Gurkha units of the British Indian Army. It was most likely acquired by Corporal Harold J. deBona '14 in a trade with an Indian soldier.

  • WWI Uniform

    In 2014, the Cushing Memorial Library and Archives hosted an exhibition called “The Great War: Memories of Service and Sacrifice. A World War I Exhibit Featuring the Aggie Experience”. This uniform belonged to Corporal Harold J. deBona '14. The ribbons represent medals for German Occupation (left) and Inter-Allied Victory (right).

Cushing Library Exhibit

In 2014, the Cushing Memorial Library and Archives hosted an exhibition called “The Great War: Memories of Service and Sacrifice. A World War I Exhibit Featuring the Aggie Experience”. The exhibition featured books, diaries, letters, photographs, posters and artifacts from the Ragan Military History Collection housed at Cushing Library, as well as materials on loan from private collectors. The exhibition documented the experience of those involved in World War I—American, British, French and German participants alike. Among the items on display were an American Red Cross diary, a 1915 Christmas truce letter, an enlarged image of the Gold Star service flag and a commemorative Texas A&M “Gold Book” pamphlet printed in 1919 to pay tribute to the Aggie servicemen.

For more information on how to support the Texas A&M Libraries, contact Adelle Hedleston at adelle-h@tamu.edu or (979) 862-4574.

You may donate items relating to World War I or other historical Texas A&M items by contacting Greg Bailey at gbailey@library.tamu.edu or (979) 845-1951.