Among the tailgaters and Homecoming hype Saturday morning sat black hawks, tanks and Hummers on the Parade Ground.
Friends and family gathered at the War Memorial in front of the Memorial Tower to honor 10 new inductees of the Cadets of the Ole War Skule Hall of Honor while ROTC members marched on the grounds to music from the Tiger Band.
Maj. Gen. Harry Conrad, president of the Hall of Honor, said the tradition started nine years ago to continue support of the University’s military heritage.
Once dubbed the “Ole War School,” Conrad said the University was a military school from the beginning and was once a top four military school along with West Point, Texas A&M and the Naval Academy.
“LSU has a very strong military tradition,” he said. “Every year we elect people into the military Hall of Honor based on service to the military and community service.”
Lt. Gen. Thomas Rhame, a three-star general and inductee from Woodridge, Va., said the ceremony is significant to him and the University because LSU was historically a large cadet school.
Rhame, a commanding general of the 1st infantry division nicknamed “Big Red One,” led the division in Iraq in the Gulf War and was involved in the liberation of Kuwait.
“We’ve had a lot of people who graduated and went to do significant things for our country,” he said. “It’s quite an honor because when you’re young and in the core, you don’t know what the future holds. To come back to my home University is quite an honor.”
The other inductees were Paul Arst, Baton Rouge; Doyle Chambers, Baton Rouge; Brig. Gen. Louie Reinburg, Baton Rouge; Oscar Ricard, Baton Rouge; Lt. Col. Calvin Robbins, Baton Rouge; Harvey Schwartzberg, Baton Rouge; and Lt. Col. Dewell Pittman, Bogalusa.
Sgt. 1st Class William Carter, a Louisiana Army National Guard recruiter at the University, said the ROTC and Military Science programs attended the ceremony to support the veterans of the Ole War Skule.
“It takes us back to our roots,” Carter said. “ROTC is a proud tradition, and it’s been around since the beginning of the school itself.”
He said the military equipment, positioned around the Parade Ground giving the feel of an army base, was courtesy of the Louisiana National Guard.
Ceremony spectators and game day tailgaters marveled at the large machines and were able to step inside the tanks and helicopters to experience the atmosphere first hand.
Some of the machinery included Bradley fighting vehicles from Alpha Company in Breaux Bridge, La., tractor-trailer trucks, known as “hetts,” Hummers from Alexandria, La., and black hawk helicopters flown in from New Orleans.
Chancellor Mark Emmert gave the opening remarks before the inductions and told the crowd the University has always had a profound connection to the military, and honoring the country’s veterans is essential.
“The United States is an extraordinary piece of real-estate, but that’s not what makes us a great nation – it’s the great people,” Emmert said. “These are the people who have given their time and risked their lives for this good land and we owe each of them gratitude. For that, I say ‘thank you, thank you, thank you.”