The Southern Guards Battalion Army Reserve Officers Training Corps held its annual tribute on Saturday, Nov. 18, commemorating the 101 Wofford College students or alumni who have fallen in combat since World War I.
As the morning sun rose above the treetops, cadets gathered in front of the Charles E. Daniel Building and read aloud the names. Jason Kellinger ’24, an international affairs major from Calne, England, played “Taps” on a trumpet to conclude the brief but somber ceremony.
Maj. Nicole Dallocchio, professor of military science at Wofford and leader of the Southern Guards Battalion, says there’s one thing she hopes students will learn from the experience.
“The biggest thing for cadets to gain from a memorial service for those who, like them, served in this battalion and went off to the military just like they’re going to do soon is perspective,” Dallocchio says. “Some of them deploy and some of them don’t come back. That’s the reality of what they’ve committed to — to being part of something bigger than themselves. Sometimes it comes at a cost. And sometimes that cost is, unfortunately, human life.”
The roster of fallen students encompasses five wars and every branch of service.
“We look to these names for inspiration,” says Kellinger, who will soon be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. “They volunteered to fight for their country and made the ultimate sacrifice. They did such a great thing for our nation, and we want to honor them. It is up to us to carry the torch. By reading the names, it instills in each of us a greater sense of what we are going to do for our country.”
Jack Gaskins ’24, a finance major from Spartanburg, also reflects on the legacy of those who have preceded him in the battalion. He has a personal connection to the list. Army First Lt. Andrew Shields ’01, a friend of Gaskins’ family, died in a helicopter crash on Dec. 9, 2004, in Mosul, Iraq.
“It hits pretty close to home,” Gaskins says. “But just saying their names out loud means a lot. It shows that they are not forgotten.”
Dallocchio hopes support for the annual ceremony and the battalion, as well as for a planned military memorial on campus, will continue to grow. The military memorial will be constructed between Main Building and the DuPré Administration Building and will bear the names, class years, service branches and ranks of Wofford alumni who died while on active duty. Gifts to the memorial can be made here.
The Wofford alumni killed in action since World War I and the establishment of the Southern Guards Battalion are:
Lafayette B. Adams ’37, Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army
David B. Anderson Jr. ’37, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Williams H. Alexander ’45, Sergeant, U.S. Army
Everett L. Bass ’41, Sergeant, U.S. Army Air Corps
Roy V. Bishop ’40, Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army Air Corps
Norman E. Bowen ’49, First Lieutenant, U.S. Air Force
Leyburn W. Brockwell Jr. ’51, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army
Evander C. Bryant ’37, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Ralph S. Bryant ’37, Captain, U.S. Army Air Corps
William P. Buhrman Jr. ’40, Captain, U.S. Army
Frank H. Burwell ’39, Captain, U.S. Army
Volney L. Byars ’41, Tech Sergeant, U.S. Army Air Corps
Frank L. Chennault 1917, Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army
Charles B. Church ’32, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Wendell E. Cole ’46, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Joe F. Compton ’42, Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Sheldon M. Dannelly ’39, Captain, U.S. Army
Earl A. Davidson 1914, Private, U.S. Army
William T. Dixon Jr. ’46, Captain, U.S. Army
Ben R. Easterling ’39, Sergeant, U.S. Army
Henry P. Elias ’41, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Corps
James A. Faust ’43, Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Audley M. Federline Sr. ’59, Captain, U.S. Army
John D. Ferguson ’45, Private First Class, U.S. Army
Robert T. Fletcher 1916, Private, U.S. Army
Thomas O. Fowler ’42, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
John H. Franks ’44, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Earl P. Furman Jr. ’44, Specialist, U.S. Army Air Corps
Claude E. Gatlin Jr. ’45, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Irwin P. Gibbons ’41, Technical Sergeant 4, U.S. Army
Fred E. Gillespie ’42, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
William H. Gladden Jr. ’39, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Homer L. Glenn ’40, Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Charles D. Graham 1916, Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps
Horace E. Gravely 1927, Chaplain, U.S. Army
Walter K. Hale Jr. ’43, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Lyles G. Hardin ’35, Major, U.S. Army
Robert F. Haynes ’37, Major, U.S. Army
Walter B. Haynes ’38, Corporal, U.S. Army Air Corps
James B. Heins Jr. ’38, Captain, U.S. Army
George A. Hendley ’45, Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Thomas C. Herbert 1914, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Ernest G. Hewitt Jr. ’46, Private, U.S. Army
Carley M. Hinson ’33, Private First Class, U.S. Army
Brian F. Hodges ’38, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Frank C. Hodges ’29, Captain, U.S. Army
William A. Hudgens 1897, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
William E. Johnson Jr. ’39, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Julian K. Joliff ’43, Ensign, U.S. Navy
Drew L. King 1926, Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Warden H. King Jr. ’43, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Corps
Wilson K. King ’42, Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Thomas D. Lake Jr. 1914, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Joseph M. Lanham Jr. 1915, Private, U.S. Army
James M. Lee ’38, Captain, U.S. Army
Clarence A. Lewis 1916, Private, U.S. Army
Eugene E. Little ’40, Captain, U.S. Army
John J. Little ’35, Captain, U.S. Army
Joe H. Marlowe ’45, Sergeant, U.S. Army
Theodore P. Mason ’36, Major, U.S. Army
Furman W. Massengale ’70, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
William M. Mcleod 1921, Captain, U.S. Army
Ernest F. McWhirter 1904, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
John T. Monroe 1913, Yeoman Second Class, U.S. Navy
Frank G. Montgomery 1914, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
James H. Morris ’47, Private, U.S. Army
James O. Mosley ’45, Sergeant, U.S. Army
Fred M. Nanney ’42, Cadet, U.S. Army Air Corps
Francis D. Newman ’38, Captain, U.S. Army
William M. Nichols 1911, Second Lieutenant, British Royal Artillery
Michael C. Oakman ’46, Private, U.S. Army
Edward W. Owens ’42, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Maxwell F. Parrott ’38, Captain, U.S. Army
Norman W. Priester Jr. ’41, Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army
John E. Raftery Jr. ’45, Private, U.S. Army
John S. Reaves Jr. ’68, Sergeant, U.S. Army
Thomas C. Reed Jr. ’36, Ensign, U.S. Navy
William W. Ritter ’37, Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Roy Robertson ’35, Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Corps
Eddie M. Robinson ’43, Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Melvin C. Rogers 1915, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Simon K. Rowland Jr. ’41, Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Harold S. Sale Jr. ’64, Captain, U.S. Air Force
James Shands ’40, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Andrew J. Shields ’01, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Hubert M. Smith 1915, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
James O. Smith ’44, Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps
John W. Speake ’31, Captain, U.S. Army Air Corps
Gordon S. Stevens ’39, Captain, U.S. Army
Roach S. Stewart Jr. ’41, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Thomas R. Summers 1917, Sergeant, U.S. Army
Ted J. Taylor ’68, Captain, U.S. Army
John M. Thomas 1920, Sergeant, S.C. Army National Guard
Leonard T. Thompson ’36, Technical Sergeant 5, U.S. Army
William F. Thompson ’46, Private First Class, U.S. Army
David A. Wallace 1925, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Lawrence F. Watson Jr. ’45, Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Corps
Richard R. Watts ’40, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Guy W. Wilkes Jr. ’42, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Avery W. Williamson ’34, Major, U.S. Army
Allen O. Wood ’40, First Lieutenant, U.S. Army