I know that back when the Corps was mandatory there were always a few exceptions , kids of faculty , vets, special majors etc.. My question : was there an exception for young men who had physical disabilities such as polio victims or kids with birth defects that would not allow them to participate in the Corps.
Was AMC basically closed to all but able bodied young men for the first 75 years?

post WWII soldiers weren't in the corps

It was my experience that Veterans, Physically handicapped, and foreign students were on the exempt billet.
Vet students were required to participate at least for first two years as were all (?) others - including athletes.

Having said that one of the most redass old army outfits that had year-to-year done very well in General Moore competition had a kid who had some motor problems and could not march without "bouncing" for the life of him His name was O'rell McDaniel. F-1 tolerated Orell's "problem" because he tried as hard as he could and was not otherwise a F...-up.

On the other hand, we were all aware of several guys who came to A&M thinking they were going to change things up or get their way as fish - particularly if they had JROTC backgrounds or were from the "north" (generally speaking). These guys did not last long - their personal effects were often found in the showers or out the window on the quad - no one knew how or what... but, they knew they did not conform and were invited to take Highway 6 - either way.

I have a 1926 Longhorn. The guys in civilian clothes in their individual photos seem to be older and foreign students, including one from Baghdad. If you were ineligible to commission, could you start as a cadet, and be a non-reg the last two years?

As part of an experiment to attract new students and to prevent the high attrition numbers that (it was believed) threatened the existence of the college, from the fall of 1954 to the fall of 1958, the Corps was non-compulsory, though most students chose to join.

See Keepers of the Spirit pp. 190-197.

On page 139 of the same book is a fairly complex organizational chart, created in 1938, of the student body that includes physically unfit, overage, and foreign students, students exempt from Military Science, and graduate students exempted by the Executive Committee from wearing uniforms.

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post WWII soldiers weren't in the corps

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Really? Because I know the wife of a WWII vet who attended Texas A&M after the war and was not in the Corps. She had great stories of how they both lived on campus together.

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post WWII soldiers weren't in the corps

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Really? Because I know the wife of a WWII vet who attended Texas A&M after the war and was not in the Corps. She had great stories of how they both lived on campus together.

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Aren't you saying the same thing?

Yup, I just go really confused.

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Yup, I just go really confused.

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My constant state.

My outfit had a fish my senior year who had polio. He was the son of an Aggie and I remember the day well when his Dad's Cadillac pulled up and he unloaded his son's footlocker and then hugged his son and drove off. This fish had been a football player in Midland until he was stricken with polio.

He did everything his fish buddies did, just at a slower pace. I think he wore partial braces on his legs. I can't remember if he marched on game days or reviews, but he certainly wasn't treated differently then his fish buds. I am pretty sure he was in pain all the time but he never let it show.

He has done well since graduation. I haven't really kept up with him but he was a big time banker ending high up in the corporate chain in (ugh) Austin.

Hell of a lot tougher than I was.


Out

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from the fall of 1954 to the fall of 1958, the Corps was non-compulsory, though most students chose to join.

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That's interesting, because my dad entered A&M in the fall of 1954 and he has never told me that story.

Also in the fall of 1954 fish were housed back on the main campus

and for Montgomery Burns, "Ord ord ord ord ord ord ord"

My dad was a Veteran of the Korean War and entered A&M in 1955. He wanted to join the Corps of Cadets but was discouraged from doing so because it was unnecessary. He also entered A&M on a program for non-high school graduate Veterans to first get a GED and then matriculate as a freshman.

I was in the corps from '61 - '65, and as I remember there were a number of exceptions that could keep students out of the corps. Foreign students were not required to be in the corps, although they could be if they chose. Physical disabilities could also exempt a student from the corps. And there were some of my classmates who were never in the corps, but I never understood why. Several of them later served in the military, even in Vietnam, as officers or as enlisted.

Also, at that time the corps was only mandatory for the first two years. Juniors and seniors were exempt from the corps if they chose.

Of course this was 50 years ago, and my memory may not be completely accurate.

It's my understanding that, after WWII, a student could opt out of the Corps/ROTC requirement if they had had active duty service during the war. What I'm not sure of is, if the requirement also included that the service be in a foreign theater. Anyway, active duty service during WWII of some type was an exemption from the military training regimen at A&M after WWII.

There was no way in those years to be a D&C cadet..... Drill & Ceremony option did not become available until after the Korean War.

Nowadays, the Corps is a lot more lenient in accepting people who might have certain kinds of physical issues that, even 15 years ago, would have kept them from being cadets. Not too many years ago there was a young man who was legally blind, but wanted to be in the Corps. As I understand it, he could see light and shapes, but no more than that. One of the AF outfits took him... during the march-ins, they would position this young cadet in the middle of the outfit formation, and the cadets on either side of him would put their hands on each of his shoulders and guide him through the turns and flanking movements. A pretty neat deal to see, and as far as I know the young man served his four years as a cadet in good standing.

Feb. 45 we had a Frog in the Corps who had his arm shot off in Italy ! Had one of the first claw type prosthesis ! Believe he volunteered for the Corps.

We also had a Cuban and a Puerto Rican . '48 class had a polio victim with a shortened leg - was on the gymnastic team and put on performances at BB games. Believe he was in Corps all the way and became a Veterinarian !

Another '49 was a victim of the New London gas explosion - face disfigured - believe he got his commission.

G Infantry had a vet class of '44 who was in WW2 as a ski trooper in Germany.

I went back in the Corps after Navy service . out for a while- went back in as D&C - at formation one day my name got called for contract Air Force signing - for $27.50 a month on top of $75.00 GI bill - didn't hesitate! Got to serve another 2 years in Germany for that .

Lots of interesting guys in the Corps. -

Forgot - in 1946 there was a veterans Dorm 10 - all in Corps and all WW2 vets !

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G Infantry had a vet class of '44 who was in WW2 as a ski trooper in Germany.

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For us or them?

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Not too many years ago there was a young man who was legally blind, but wanted to be in the Corps. As I understand it, he could see light and shapes, but no more than that. One of the AF outfits took him... during the march-ins, they would position this young cadet in the middle of the outfit formation, and the cadets on either side of him would put their hands on each of his shoulders and guide him through the turns and flanking movements. A pretty neat deal to see, and as far as I know the young man served his four years as a cadet in good standing.

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My daughter was in the Corps during that young man's tenure and it was a thrill to watch him pass by with his buds. I'm not sure which game it was, but during his senior year his unit was one of the first to pass in review and one of the bulls pulled him out of formation after they passed and took him up to the reviewing stand for the rest of the march in.