Red Shirts Protect and Serve the Country

From its early days, Rho Sigma has been closely associated with the Ouachita military department. Red Shirts were traditionally the commanding officers of Ouachita's legendary Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) -- nationally known as the "West Point of the Ozarks" because it was second only to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in producing Army officers. Red Shirts were also responsible for beginning all of Ouachita's military recognition societies. World War II veteran George Roth, a Red Shirt, founded Gamma Iota (G.I.) veterans fraternity in 1945, and Red Shirt Jim Gill was the driving force behind the establishment of the Ouachita chapter of Pershing Rifles national military honor society in 1956. Red Shirts were prominent leaders in both the Rifle Club military social club of the late 1930s and early 1940s and Scabbard & Blade national military recognition society in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. For some, military service did not end with graduation. It was common for Red Shirts to serve several years in a branch of military service upon graduation, and many made a career of the armed services. Almost all of the Red Shirts of the 1930s and early 1940s served during World War II. Four of them gave their lives in that global war: Maj. Robert Elmo Chaney, 1st Lt. Ralph Carlton Mann, 2nd Lt. John Calvin Halsell, and 1st Lt. Carmon B. Rucker. Maj. Chaney was killed in action while commanding the famed Spearhead Armored Division just days before the unit was pulled out of combat. The unit was noted for having the highest casualty rate in the U.S. Army during World War II. After leaving the U.S. Navy to join the Marine Corps, Lt. Mann was the commander of the Marine rearguard action on Bataan. After being ordered to surrender along with the rest of the U.S. troops in the Philippines, Mann suffered through the infamous Bataan Death March and died in captivity at a Japanese prisoner of war camp. Lt. Halsell and Lt. Rucker were both Army Air Corps officers who were killed in action while flying bombing missions against the Japanese. Many, many other Red Shirts of the era saw combat, such as Harvey Thomas, who was commander of the squad that was THE point squad, the leading edge of the U.S. Army campaign into the heart of Nazi Germany. Red Shirts again answered their country's call during the Korean Conflict. Among those seeing a great deal of combat were Joe (Ma) Hubbard and Maj. Benjamin (Benjie) Owen. Owen became the most decorated Arkansan in the Korean Conflict. When the Vietnam War divided the nation, Red Shirts were again called to duty. Lt. Pryor Wheat, a Red Shirt, was the first Ouachitonian killed during that conflict. He was killed in action while helping wounded men board a helicopter. Capt. Ed Scarborough, another Red Shirt, also gave his life in Vietnam. He was killed while heroically saving two of his men. Dozens of other Red Shirts also saw service in that tragic war. Red Shirts have continued to serve in the various branches of the armed services in more recent actions, such as those in Grenada, Panama, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and the Persian Gulf. Many are in service around the world today. Among them are recent graduates Cameron Gantz and Trey Metzger, and faculty advisor and alumnus Dr. Terry DeWitt, all of whom served or are serving in Iraq. Many Red Shirts have made a career out of the military, often rising to positions of great authority. Col. Bill Abernathy, a Red Shirt career Army officer, was credited by Gen. Colin Powell for being a role model and mentor for the former Secretary of State. Many, such as Roy Woods, Allan Grigson, and Tom Hargis, were or are prominent military leaders at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. or in defense industry-related positions. Howard Massey may have attained the highest rank of any Red Shirt in the military. He was the brigadier general commanding the Tennessee National Guard.