Honoring over 100 years of honor, legacy & heritage.
Our History.
Over 100 years of producing our Nation’s finest Officers.
“The defense of freedom in our world requires ROTC to exist”
-President Martin D. Whitaker of Lehigh University 1954
It all started with one man’s vision.
Dr. Henry Sturgis Drinker served as the fifth President of Lehigh University, and it’s first alumnus to do so, serving in that capacity during the years 1905-1920. Thanks to him Lehigh had in place a program very similar to ROTC over a decade before it was introduced onto college campuses, which he himself played a great part in as well. Clink on the video link to the right to find out more about this man and how he helped create ROTC as we all know it!
Here we have the Steel BN of the 2018-2019 school year directly compared to the Lehigh Infantry Company pictured in the 1919 epitome. It is likely however that the 1919 picture is actually of the 1917-1918 academic school year unit.
Here we find the regulations of Lehigh's Infantry Company, which was part of the military training program present on campus since its inception in 1908 by President Drinker. Notice that one of the articles states "for the remainder of the 1917-1918 academic year". This tells us that the picture and regulations come from 1917-18 but were used for the 1919 epitome.
A continuation of the rules Lehigh Students had to follow in the military training program on campus created by President Drinker before ROTC was officially introduced.
Though pictured in the 1919 epitome we already know it is from earlier. This was likely Lehigh's last military unit unrelated to ROTC to exist.
This Epitome page as well as the next both show the culture Lehigh that helped produce ROTC. Pictured as well is President Drinker(center) with WW1 Area Commanders. President Drinker played a very large role in the preparedness movement leading up to America's involvement in the war.
This Epitome page, as well as the previous page, offer insights into the culture at Lehigh that helped produce ROTC. Pictured as well is President Drinker(center) with WW1 Area Commanders. President Drinker played a very large role in the preparedness movement leading up to America's involvement in the war.
Here you can get a glimpse into Lehigh's WW2 experience.
Here we see that in 1955's Pershing Rifles season Lehigh Nimrods beat Lafayette as usual. Different sport same outcome.
Lehigh's 2004 epitome offers much. A ROTC House where cadets could relax, do laundry, etc once existed. What happened to this house? Of the two cadets, one earned the monicker "The Animal" from his peers. I wonder who, if any, in our BN now could match up in raw power. At the bottom we see the Cadre who are not in Jordan Hall. When did we transition to Jordan Hall?
Pictured in this Brown and White clipping dated shortly after the start of the Korean War are Capt Schreiner and MSG Wall. They are explaining to students details about the war including the possibility of using Atomic Bombs to turn back the N. Koreans.
Lehigh used to have a shooting team called the Pershing Rifles Club. Anyone could try to join the team but many ROTC members would often join as the team's coaching staff was always made up of Army ROTC cadre members.
President Henry Sturgis Drinker was the fifth President of Lehigh and its first Alumni to become a president. It is because of his actions and sentiments that ROTC came into existence on Lehigh's campus. He also played a large role in creating and expanding ROTC around the country.
Pictured here is a section from one of Lehigh University's Epitomes in the late 1960s. Colonel Gates Stern, who helped to defend ROTC against student opposition during the Vietnam War, is pictured on the bottom right as the first man on the left.
LTCs Caskey & Schumaker of the Air & Army ROTCs found themselves in a precarious situation in 1961. Basic ROTC was no longer a graduation requirement. Thus, the size of ROTC was a mere fraction of before. The two pushed through many improvements in response creating much more desirable programs. The improvements made by these two were critical in defending Lehigh ROTC during the Vietnam War era protests.
The hardest part of any task is simply starting it.