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HARVARD YARD, 25 May 2011 -- Incoming commander of the 101st Airborne Division Major General James McConville and Harvard President Drew Faust both spoke at the first Harvard ROTC Commissioning following Harvard's recognition of ROTC in March 2011.
LTC Timothy Hall, Visiting Professor of Military Science at MIT and leader of the Army ROTC program for Harvard students, who led the ceremony, pointed out in his remarks the progress made over the past year in Harvard's engagement with the military.
MG McConville spoke of being at Harvard as a National Security Fellow during the 9/11 attacks. He celebrated the ROTC graduates who are "from the finest university in the Nation and they will be entering the most respected institution in the country". He thanked the graduates for their service and assured them that they'd have lots to say when their children and grandchildren asked them what they did during the war. He spoke of having hosted last week at the Pentagon the four surviving members of the World War II era Easy Company, whose story was made famous in the HBO series, “Band of Brothers”. He "told them to sleep well at night because talented young people like you are continuing to volunteer to serve and defend this great country of ours".
President Faust spoke (text, audio) of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, and how 1 in 10 Harvard Union soldiers died during the war. She celebrated the "newly invigorated Harvard tradition of military service".
The Class of 1961 speaker Colonel (retired) Arthur Boright spoke of his work in meteorology in the Air Force, and of the variety of roles played in the Air Force by his Harvard classmates. He pointed to the importance of ROTC in bringing to the civilian leadership an understanding of the application of military force. He advised the graduates that "Leading from the rear doesn't work very well".
Receiving Army commissions were Second Lieutenants Christopher W. Higgins and Aaron R. Scherer. Higgins was selected for a Gates Scholarship and a Fulbright Scholarship and will pursue a Master of Philosophy degree at the University of Cambridge (UK) next year. Also on stage was Cadet Michael G. Schoenen, who will be commissioned when he graduates in the fall of 2011. Receiving a Navy commission was Midshipman James D. Reach, who received his first salute from his maternal grandfather, Patrick Manzi, who served 31 years in the navy, and was awarded 3 Purple Hearts, 2 Silver Stars, and 3 Bronze Stars, and among other things, got to fish astronaut John Glenn out of the water.
(click photos for captions and higher resolution versions)
Previous Harvard ROTC Commissioning Ceremonies: 2002
2003 2004
2005 2006
2007 2008
2009 2010
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