Cadet Life

Theodore Hyatt modeled PMC after West Point. Colonel Charles Hyatt often called PMC the “West Point of the Keystone State.” Wherever possible, the rules and regulations of West Point were adopted for use at PMC. This made the Regulation Book the single most important book and influence on a PMC Cadet. Stated in the Regulation Book for PMC Cadets was the requirement that the PMC Cadet “is always gentlemanly in his conduct, and is possessed of a sense of personal responsibility and self-confidence.” Indeed, the related principles of “gentlemanly honor and moral obligation” were crucially important lessons to be embraced by all cadets throughout their cadet-years.

Colonel Frank K. Hyatt became President and Commandant of Cadets in 1930 and, for the next two decades, he faced numerous societal-changes as well as World War II. Col. Hyatt responded by making significant changes in the regulations that greatly altered the life of a Cadet. He firmly believed, however, that “gentlemanly conduct” was synonymous with the Cadet life-style and, frequently spoke of his belief that gentlemanly conduct (character) was an underlying principle through this quote that he repeated often and was also posted prominently in the Cadet Auditorium:

“When wealth is lost, nothing is lost;
When health is lost, something is lost;
When character is lost all is lost.”

In 1947, Col. Hyatt announced a liberalization of cadet privileges. In a newspaper article in the Chester Times, he explained “We have felt that some liberalization of our campus rules was necessary during the past several months. The new system of rules has been devised to meet new conditions and ideas.” Cadets were now allowed more time off campus and the boundaries where they were allowed to visit were expanded. Yet, Cadets were still not allowed to drink, smoke in public, and behave in an ungentlemanly fashion.

While Cadets welcomed these new liberalized privileges, they were still bound by their “honor” to obey the new rules. They were, furthermore, required to report any infractions or violations by other cadets. Violations of these privileges would be dealt with by a new organization, the Cadet Honor Court, which tried the violators and recommended punishment to Hyatt. The concept of “Gentlemanly Conduct and Honor” most certainly included character. The PMC Honor Code, however, may also be another example of PMC adopting the well known West Point canon “A Cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do” that was introduced by Douglas MacArthur in 1922.

The 1960’s brought changes to the cultural fabric of the nation and to PMC. During this time, acts of campus vandalism and theft were reported and civilian students sought to separate themselves from the Cadets. The social changes were exacerbated in 1966 by the creation of PMC Colleges, which were comprised two schools (PMC and Penn Morton (a non-military school)) on one campus. In addition, PMC instituted a formal “Honor Code” and Honor Board to reinforce the long-standing rules of “gentlemanly conduct” defined in the rules and regulations, which had governed the Cadets since 1821. This Honor Code continued until the Corps of Cadets were disbanded in 1972.

Every morning and evening the Corps of Cadets assembled along the curved driveway in front of Old Main. Before they saluted, rendering Honors to the Colors, Cadets anxiously awaited the call to “The Porch”. Throughout the Brigade you heard “First platoon, second squad, fifth man.” Each Cadet in that position would then hastily proceed to the Porch of Old Main and stand inspection. A First Classman (Senior) would slowly inspect each Cadet in great detail. Shoes had to be perfectly spit-shined. Brass needed to be polished and worn correctly. The gig-line was to be exact. Trousers and shirt pressed. Fingernails clean, trimmed and you had to have a good haircut. In addition, there would always be questions, such as: “Who are the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff?” or “Name the Presidents of PMC”. These inspections and other aspects of life in the Corps were part of a rigorous 30-week company competition to become the Honor Company.

The final portions of the competition were held each spring. the companies of the Corps participated in a drill competition plus a contest to determine the Outstanding Cadet Sergeant, Cadet Corporal and Cadet Private. The drill competition to be Honor Company was rigorous. Each company was graded based on inspection, manual of arms and facing movements and marching movements. The outside judges assigned points for each company’s performance. Prior to the company drill, the contest to determine individual honors took place. Independent judges would evaluate each Cadet candidate and awarded points based on inspection, military knowledge and performance.

The Honor Company of the Year Award was presented at the annual Mother’s Day Parade. The Company that had demonstrated superior performance during the competition was recognized as the best of the Corps of Cadets. For many Cadets it was a significant and memorable achievement.

 

Beginning in 1950, PMC hosted what would become an annual tribute to the mothers of PMC Cadets. The annual program consisted of a Full Dress Mother’s Day Parade with the Cadet mothers “Taking the Review.”  A traditional part of the program was the presentation of a red rose to the mother of each Cadet in attendance. The program also consisted of the presentation of various awards.  Among the most anticipated and coveted award was the promotion of several members of the Fourth or “Rook” (freshman) Class to the rank of Cadet Corporal.

Those Fourth Classmen were chosen with very carefully. Each Company Commander would recommend to each Battalion staff a cadet that was observed as: “Having outstanding Military Bearing.”  The candidate also needed to have a strong academic record to be considered.  With the approval of the Commandant’s staff, the Mother’s Day Corporals were chosen for their “achievement of outstanding military and academic records” while being a member of the Corps of Cadets.

The annual Mother’s Day Ceremony and the Father and Son Banquet were highlights of the year.  Both events were always well attended and established friendship and goodwill between PMC and parents.

Mother’s Day Corporals

Mother’s Day Parades

Mother’s Day Corporals Listed by Year

Mothers Day	Name	Class
1950	Charles F. Hiltner	53
1950	Charles S Nagle, Jr.	53
1951	Nicholas A. Cellucci	54
1953	Charles A. Callahan	56
1953	William S. McKee	56
1953	Charles W. Solliday	56
1954	Louis Sasso	56
1954	Donald J. Ainsworth	57
1954	Franklin A. Walsh	57
1955	Eugene A. Ellis	58
1956	Robert E. Hofman	59
1956	John J. Rogers	59
1956	Joseph Smith	59
1957	Guy D. Haag	60
1957	Stanley J. Martin	60
1957	Frederick L. Reigel	60
1958	Thomas P. Cope	61
1958	Alfred B. Emma	61
1958	Roger A. Godin	61
1959	Franklin H. Andrew	62
1959	Robert L. Dainton	62
1959	William E. Muehsam	62
1959	Robert Bellinger	62
1959	Barry Ernest	62
1959	William A. Kester	62
1960	Raymond L. Hastings	63
1960	John L. Geoghegan	63
1960	Albert Hansen	63
1960	Bruce Overton	63
1961	Gordan L. Carlisle	64
1961	Robert Duffy	64
1961	Lorenzo E. Fesler, Jr.	64
1961	Douglas D. MacDonald	64
1961	Nicholas Manente	64
1961	Glenn MacCausland	64
1961	Gerrald W. Schmidt	64
1961	Robert L. Sicotte	64
1961	Dennis Vetock	64
1962	Shelley J. Horwitz	65
1962	Norman Goldberg	65
1962	George Vincent	65
1963	William D. Duthie	66
1963	George Graner, Jr.	66
1963	Charles E. March	66
1963	Gerald F. Johnson, Jr.	66
1963	Marvin G. Shipps	66
1963	Edward R. Taddeo, Jr.	66
1963	Peter M. Zeimann	66
1964	Charles C. Cole	67
1964	Richard Hodges	67
1965	Ronald L Callentine	68
1965	Robert S. Chamberlain	68
1965	Frank J. Del Sole	68
1965	Denis L. Grealish	68
1965	Malcom W. MacNab	68
1965	Richard A. Schwartz	68
1965	Stephen Vasak	68
1965	Kenneth O. Wofford	68
1966	Thomas Dougherty	69
1966	Robert Heitman	69
1966	Robert F McCaffrey	69
1966	Daniel Orne	69
1966	James W Pherson	69
1966	Mark Richards	69
1966	Carlton K Rohrbach	69
1966	William E Storms	69
1966	David Williams	69
1967	Richard Beals	70
1967	John Czekner	70
1967	James Howard	70
1967	Larry Spang	70
1967	Frederick Walker	70
1968	Wayne Austerman	71
1968	Louis Cioletti	71
1968	Philip DeGrott	71
1968	Nelson Enriques	71
1968	Steve Fowler	71
1968	John Molnar	71
1968	Robert Somers	71
1968	Tom Soper	71
1969	Charles Driggers	72
1969	Bob Gerling	72
1969	Stanley Greenwood	72
1969	Geroge Hedrick	72
1969	Michael Lennon	72
1969	Philip Lewis	72
1969	Paul S. Lewis	72
1969	Pasquale Verrastro	72
1970	Edward Albertson	73
1970	Glen Dower	73
1970	George Kinoshita	73
1970	William McKeon	73
1970	Samuel Sides	73
1972	Randolph Hessman	75
1972	Les Ware	75

In many ways, Theodore Hyatt modeled Pennsylvania Military Academy after the United States Military Academy, West Point, system of education. With the passing of leadership to Charles Hyatt in 1888, few changes were made in this philosophy. In 1893, Colonel Charles Hyatt introduced the spring encampment for all PMC cadets that was modeled after the USMA “Summer Encampment,” which had begun in 1819. The first PMC spring encampment was held in a field adjoining the parade ground called Camp Crawford. The camp was named after Civil War Major General Samuel W. Crawford, subsequent President of the Board of Trustees, who passed away in 1892.

During the encampment, the Cadets lived in tents and gained practical experience. Under the direction of the Professor of Military Science, mornings were devoted to military problems and marksmanship. The afternoons were spent playing sports or other forms of recreation. Evenings were usually spent around a campfire, where a variety of activities kept everyone entertained.

With the passage of the National Defense Act in 1916, the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps was created. In the summer of 1918, ROTC held its first six-week summer camp at Plattsburg, NY, and PMC Cadets were in attendance. For the next half-century, these camps became a part of a cadet’s experience at PMC. In more recent years, the encampment was held at Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, Annville, PA, (now named Fort Indiantown Gap).

In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the “separate but equal” doctrine that formed the basis for state-sanctioned discrimination. In the turbulent decade and-a-half that followed the decision of the Supreme Court, civil rights activists used nonviolent protest and civil disobedience to bring about change in country. Many of the protestors risked – and sometimes lost – their lives.

PMC was not insulated from these changes and, in 1956, the first African-American Cadets, Keith Bodden and Charles Lowrie enrolled. A year later, Theof Pendarvis was a talented and quick football player and soon became known as “Bullet Bob.” Unfortunately Pendarvis suffered a serious injury in a car accident and attended PMC for only one year. After he visited the PMC campus and found that the college took a personal interest in him, Keith Bodden ’60, enrolled. Louis Horner, a talented student and Class President at his local high school, spent a year at Peekskill Military Academy, NY, in preparation for an appointment to West Point. However, rather than attending West Point, Horner came to PMC in 1958.

The single common experience these men shared was their feelings of friendship with their classmates. While the country struggled with the issue of segregation, the bond formed at PMC held these men together through many difficult situations. Horner describes such of occasion in his soon-to-be published book:

Along with his class, Louis attended ROTC Summer Camp in 1962 at Fort Meade, MD, before the First Class (Senior) year. “Fourteen of us went to a movie in Baltimore. I was the only African-American and I was told I would have to sit in the balcony. All my friends – over the ticket seller’s objections – bought tickets for the balcony too. You should have seen it – all the blacks looking at the whites,” he said, in his branded soft-spoken manner. We came to PMC as boys and left as men and Brothers

Theodore Hyatt modeled PMC after West Point. Colonel Charles Hyatt often called PMC the “West Point of the Keystone State.” Besides adopting West Point’s curriculum and uniform, wherever possible, the rules and regulations of West Point were also adopted. This made the published Regulation Book, supplemented by General and Special Orders, the single most important book and influence on a PMC Cadet. When Frank Hyatt became President and Commandant of Cadets in 1930, a series of changes in the regulations were started that greatly altered the life of a Cadet. Yet, much remained the same. In later years, the PMC Regulation Book was configured as a bright red, three-ring binder that was required to be displayed in every Cadet room at each Saturday Morning Inspection.

The Cadet that violated the major rules of PMC, such as alcohol, stealing, and dishonesty, was still subject to dismissal. Cadets who failed to “measure up to” and maintain the standards of the Corps were given written Delinquency Reports or “DR’s”. Cadets might be reported for improper attitude, conduct unbecoming a cadet, slovenly appearance, or a disorderly room. The Cadet Company Commander, based on the seriousness of the report, would assign demerits. As in 1925, Cadets were allowed a weekly demerit allowance, but were “awarded” Punishment Tours for demerits in excess of the weekly allowance. These walking tours were not less than one hour and were served on Saturday and Sunday afternoons on the blacktop behind Old Main and directly below the Commandant’s Office.

As important as the regulation book was, the adjutant of PMC was responsible for discipline and the operation of the college. In 1917, Edward “Dutch” Brautigam ’07 was appointed Adjutant and Professor of Mathematics and Military Science. He served in these posts until 1930. He is best remembered as one of the most respected adjutants in the history of the College. During his tenure, the discipline and operation of PMC differed little from the time he was a Cadet. Between 1956 and 1962, CPT Giulio “Dee” DiSerafino ’52 served as adjutant and later Assistant Commandant of the Corps. He followed in Brautigam’s footsteps and maintained the standards of the Corps. CPT DiSerafino also became an inspiration to many and was well respected by those who knew him.

In the fall of 1888, a carload of cavalry horses arrived at PMC and Colonel Charles Hyatt announced cavalry drill as a new line of military training. Instruction was to be similar to that at West Point and quickly became popular with cadets. In 1894, PMC’s Cavalry Squad performed at the Philadelphia Horse Show and the local newspapers proclaimed “It was probably the finest exhibition of drilling on horseback ever seen in Philadelphia.” For many years the Cavalry Squad continued to make public appearances

Perhaps the most challenging and entertaining activity of the Cavalry Squad was the yearly competition for the John G. Bergfels Cavalry Medal. This competition signaled the start of commencement activities and was often witnessed by hundreds of spectators. The events typically included “a walk and trot, canter, right pass and left pass, back jumping, changing leads, mount and dismount, changing mounts, vaulting, vaulting with face to the rear” and performance over jumps and lasted approximately three hours.  The judges were often visiting military dignitaries or well-known horsemen.

The Bergfels Cavalry Medal was beautifully designed and made of 14 carat gold with two small diamonds on the saber grips. It was a donation from Julius Bergfels, a renowned jeweler from Newark, N.J., in 1897 to honor the memory of his younger brother John G. Bergfels. He served as first sergeant of the Van Reypen’s Unattached Company, First New Jersey Cavalry. During his career as a cavalryman, he took part in as many as eighty skirmishes and engagements, including the Battle of Second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg. During the Battle of the Wilderness, Sergeant Bergfels was mortally wounded at Todd’s Tavern in 1864.

In 1932 the PMC football team traveled to Atlantic City to play Delaware in the Convention Hall for the first time. This was one of the earliest indoor football games played. The game itself was well attended, but, despite outplaying Delaware, PMC was unable to carry “the ball across the goal stripe.” The final score was Delaware 7 PMC 6. These yearly match-ups continued until 1940.

PMC first played the United States Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point) at Homecoming in 1960. In 1961, the game was moved to the Atlantic City Convention Hall and became known as the “Little Army-Navy Game. This post-season game became an annual matchup lasting 8 years between PMC and Kings Point. The series in Atlantic City ended in 1967. In fall 1968, PMC played the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in the Boardwalk Bowl. In the fall of 1969 and 1970, PMC played Lebanon Valley in Convention Hall and the event was renamed the Atlantic City Classic.
From its beginning, area newspapers, as well as those from New Mexico, Michigan, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Texas, Ohio, Massachusetts and Florida, along with Philadelphia TV stations carried stories about the “Little Army-Navy” game. For PMC, the importance of a victory in this game instilled pride and strengthened the loyalty of everyone involved with the school. These games put PMC on the national stage.