Percival G. Lowe was born in 1863 in Leavenworth, Kansas. He completed his education in the local schools and entered PMC in 1880. He graduated from PMC in 1883 as an honor student, “First Captain” of the Corps of Cadets and received a C.E. (Civil Engineering) degree. Lowe returned to Leavenworth and for the next two years was employed as an assistant city engineer. In 1885 he enlisted in the 18th U.S. Infantry. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Company B in 1889 and graduated from the infantry and cavalry school in 1895.

He was sent to Fort Bliss, Texas, in 1896 and placed in command of the Seminole-Negro Indian Scouts. Under his leadership, the Scouts had played a pivotal role in ending violations of U.S. neutrality laws by Mexican revolutionaries and bandits in Texas, including the killing of Mangas de Agua, described as the most desperate of all the bandits.

In 1898, Secretary of War Russell Alger ordered three military expeditions to explore Alaska. Captain William R. Abercrombie, U.S. Army, commanded the second expedition. Upon his arrival, Abercrombie divided his party into two groups. The first was to make reconnaissance surveys of the Prince William Sound and the second, led by Lowe, was to navigate and chart the overland trail from Valdez to the Yukon River. Perhaps the most noteworthy event of Lowe’s expedition occurred when Abercrombie named the Lowe River after him, reportedly because of his endurance and scouting abilities.

In the spring of 1899, Lowe was promoted to Captain, given command of L Company in the 25th Infantry. and deployed to the Philippines. Lowe’s reputation as an Indian fighter and navigator was well-known when he arrived in the Philippines. As a result, General Henry W. Lawton assigned Lowe to be his chief of scouts. With the help of his friend from the Abercrombie Exploration of Alaska, Lieutenant Joseph C. Castern, 4th Infantry, Lowe pulled together a core group of enlisted men and Tagalog scouts. Henceforth they were known as “Lowe’s Scouts.“ With the need for more forces to garrison and patrol the territory, the number of Lowe Scouts increased. Within a year, over 100 Ilocano recruits were raised and “Lowe’s Scouts” grew to 250 soldiers. In addition, this unit became an integral part of the growing intelligence network of native spies and informants.

In October1899, a plan developed to deal with Filipino revolutionary positions in the Cabanatuan area . American troops were to make a frontal attack at night, with Lowe’s Scouts, commanded by Lt. Castern, supporting the attack on its right flank. The fight was over by noon without any American casualties and the revolutionaries fleeing in disarray. This was the first real fight that included the scouts. During the battle this small force moved quickly and struck the entrenched revolutionaries hard. More importantly they proved their loyalty to the American forces.

The challenge of managing the scouts in the Philippines took a heavy toll on Lowe’s health and he was sent back to the U.S. By 1903, he had retired from military and was confined to the hospital in Colgate, Oklahoma. He died in 1910 at the age of 47.

After completing high school in three years, George B. Christian, Jr., left Marion Ohio and enrolled at Pennsylvania Military College. He was a gifted student, earning the title of distinguished Cadet for earning a spot on the Merit List. Colonel Frank Hyatt wrote that “Mr. Christian is a cadet of high character and excellent intellectual attainments.” In 1896, he graduated with a Civil Engineering degree. He then returned to Marion and worked for his father at the Norris & Christian Stone and Lime Company.

Christian was also the next-door neighbor of Warren and Florence Harding. At an early age he delivered the Star newspaper, owned and operated by Harding. When Harding ran for the U.S. Senate in 1913, Christian was very involved in the campaign. One of the first decisions Harding made as senator-elect was to hire Christian as his personal secretary. As Harding’s alter ego this association continued throughout Harding’s presidency.

As Secretary to the President, Christian was the precursor of today’s White House Chief of Staff. He would act as the buffer between the President and public, keeping the President’s schedules and appointments, managing his correspondence, communicating to the press and managing the White House staff, which consisted of 31 people during the Harding Presidency.

In February, 1920, PMC held its annual recognition of Washington’s birthday. Then Senator Harding, accompanied by Christian, was the featured speaker and was awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws. Harding’s address was described as a “tribute to PMC.” Although Harding declined an invitation to attend the Centennial Commencement Ceremony, Christian sent a photo of the President inscribed with the comment “… from one who holds Chester’s famous college in high esteem.”

Christian was devastated after the unexpected death of Harding in 1923. In an interview with the New York Times he commented: “For nearly nine years I worked beside him and my present sorrow is somewhat assuaged by the feeling of satisfaction of having been permitted to serve a great president, a most humane and considerate chief and the finest friend as has ever been given a man to have.” Although he assisted with the transition of President Coolidge, Christian turned down the President’s offer to remain.

For the next few years, Christian devoted his time to working with the Harding Memorial Association, which was formed shortly after Harding’s death to plan and raise money for the Harding Memorial. He had also planned on writing a biography about Harding and his own experiences, but he developed glaucoma, with eventually robbed him of his sight. By 1930 he was inactive and his health began to fail. died in 1951.

Cann Memorial Hall was dedicated in February, 1965. At the time, Cann housed 86 Rooks (freshmen Cadets) and a small cadre of upperclassmen. The dormitory was named in honor of George Turner Cann, PMC 1885. The dedication ceremony was attended by faculty, Cadets and honored guests of PMC, including Cadet Captain Walter Clayton Jr., President of the Board of Trustees, Laurence Sharples, and Cann family members. In accepting the dormitory, it was said Cann “certainly was not ordinary.”

Judge Cann’s forebears settled in Georgia shortly after James Oglethorpe founded the colony in 1732. He was the valedictorian of his high school class in 1882 and entered Pennsylvania Military Academy in the fall. After only three years, he earned the distinction of being Cadet Captain, achieved the highest grade average (99.7 on the Merit List) ever attained at PMA, and became the class valedictorian. After graduation he attended Columbia University where he continued his studies and received his diploma from the law school. He returned to Savannah and was admitted to the bar. His law career included three terms as county attorney and as judge of the Eastern Judicial Circuit Court of Georgia.

George Cann was an active participant in many civic and fraternal organizations, including the Savannah Board of Trade, the Georgia Historical Society, and Director of the YMCA. In 1887, he joined the Savannah Volunteer Guards as a private. He advanced quickly, however, and attained the rank of captain of Company C. He was a skilled marksman and led Company C at the sixth annual New Jersey Riflemen tournament at Sea Girt, NJ. In 1896. Cann won the Wimbledon Cup with a score of 103 of of a possible 150.

In 1924, Judge Cann conferred the degree of Bachelor of Military Science upon 64 PMC alumni. Judge Cann explained that “the degree was designed to honor graduates of PMC who had served in any branch of the military in time of actual warfare.” He went on to say that PMC

creates a sound body and healthy mind, teaches obedience ot law and authority and inspires lofty ideals. PMC men have been heroes in peace and in war. They are always ready to make the supreme sacrifice when their country calls them.

Throughout his life Judge Cann continued his involvement with PMC. He was a member of the Board of Trustees from 1924-1937 and was awarded the Honorary Degrees of Master of Arts in 1892 and Doctor of Laws in 1935.

Gordon M. Bettles left Montana in 1906 and entered PMC, He quickly became a leader in a very talented class. As a senior, he received the honor of being the Cadet Battalion Commander. Commander Bettles was also an athlete and captained the football team. At Commencement he was awarded a degree in Civil Engineering and continued his education at the Colorado School of Mines. He oversaw the successful mining operations of the Yellow Tiger Mining Company in Goldfield, Nevada and introduced the use of an oil-driven compressor to mine the gold. In 1937, Bettles left his lucrative position at the Wiljobar Corporation in California and sailed to the Philippines. He was to become a part of a mining syndicate in Manila.

The bombings at Pearl Harbor in 1941 suddenly and dramatically changed the American attitude towards the Philippines. Since becoming a colony at the end of the Spanish American War, America’s approach was muddled. To many, the Philippine were an economic investment. This resulted in various large and small companies seeking the wealth of lumber, sugar and precious metals that the islands offered. After Pearl Harbor, the view was that Manila Bay was a large well-fortified port in the Pacific.

Within a month, Gordon Bettles and 6,000 other American and British civilians were interred in Japanese prison camps in Manila. The largest of these camps was Camp No. 1, University of Santo Tomása Internment Camp. The University campus consisted of 50 acres and was surrounded by high masonry walls on three sides an an ornate iron fence facing the main street. Inside the compound were the Main Building and an education building, both structures were 3-stores in height and contained offices, classrooms and a gymnasium. In addition, there were two light construction one-story buildings called the Annex and the Infirmary. Segregated by sex, thirty to fifty people were crowded into these small spaces. Bathrooms were scarce.

While there were many difficulties accommodating the growing number of internees, the Japanese absolved themselves of any responsibility. The Japanese did not consider the internees to be prisoners, but merely civilians held in protective custody. This left the internees struggling to find ways of feeding of themselves and dealing with a variety of health issues.

On June 14, 1943, Gordon M. Bettles, age 50, died of unknown causes while imprisoned. He was buried in the Manila North Cemetery.

Watch a photographic slideshow of the “University of Santo Tomas during the 2nd World War.”

 

For 150 years, PMC taught students to be academically disciplined and instilled in them the qualities of leadership. Two brothers, Hugh and Joe McCaffery (read more), learned these lessons well and were superior leaders at a time when the nation needed them.

Hugh McCaffrey ‘24 started in the PMC Prep School and then entered the college. During his time at PMC he was a multi-sport athlete, football, basketball and baseball, and was admired by his classmates for his energy and leadership. As the quarterback of the football team, McCaffrey was considered by many, including Col. Frank Hyatt, to be “slightly” better than Reds Pollock ’34. In 1924, he received his Degree in Civil Engineering from PMC and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Army Reserves. McCaffery then entered law school at Notre Dame University. While there, he joined the swim team, became the team’s captain, set collegiate records in the 100-meter freestyle, and qualified for the Olympics swim team. After earning his law degree, his interest in flying took him in a different direction.

McCaffery was a gifted pilot. Before joining the Army Air Corps in 1930, he graduated from the School of Aviation at Essington, PA. He then joined the Army Air Corps and completed flying school at Randolph Field in Texas. Thereafter, he received specialized training in pursuit, observation and bombardment in a variety of airplanes. Upon completing his training, he was assigned to the 31st Bombardment Squadron. In 1939, he was an instructor at the Air Navigation School at Hickam Field in Hawaii. In 1940, he was put in charge of the squadron.

Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Secretary of War Stimson ordered Major General Herbert A. Dargue, an aviation pioneer and commanding officer of the First Air Force, and his staff, including Major McCaffery, to investigate the lack of preparedness at Pearl Harbor and to take command of the Army units in Hawaii. On December 12, 1941, while flying a Douglas B-18 enroute to Hamilton Field in California, McCaffrey encountered a snow storm as he approached the Sierra Nevada Mountains and subsequently went missing. An exhaustive search was conducted. It wasn’t until May, 1942, that a search party led by Norman Clyde, a well-known mountaineer with experience in the Sierra Nevada, found the aircraft and bodies, covered by five feet of snow.

On the evening of October 14, 1949, the Corps of Cadets gathered in the Armory to hear Bill Stern, ’30 (read more) noted sports broadcaster. During his 15-minute, coast-to-coast broadcast that evening, Stern paid tribute to Hugh and Joe McCaffery, who had been killed in action. Any death in war is tragic. For PMC, the loss of the McCaffery boys was very personal and underscored the sacrifice PMC has made while serving our country.