Former Pershing Rifles members to reunite at Purdue
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A group of Purdue University alumni who belonged to an interservice military fraternity in the 1960s and '70s will reunite Saturday (Sept. 9) on campus.Around 30 former members of the Pershing Rifles Company E-3 will meet at the Purdue Armory at 10:30 a.m. for a cookout and then will practice some of their old military drills and ceremonies.
The Pershing Rifles is a coeducational civilian organization geared toward college students that's purpose is to foster a spirit of friendship and cooperation among the members of a military department and to maintain a highly efficient drill company.
The organization was founded in 1891 by then Lt. John J. Pershing as a means of increasing the motivation and spirit of the cadets in the military department at the University of Nebraska, where Pershing served as a professor of military science. Pershing later became a five-star general of the Army, who commanded American forces that fought against Pancho Villa in Mexico in 1916 and the American Expeditionary Force in France during World War I.
While Purdue's chapter was inactivated in the 1980s, more than 75 former members continue to keep in touch, said Lt. Col. Dan Carpenter, head of the Army ROTC department and professor of military science and leadership.
Writer: Christy Jones, (765) 494-1089, christyjones@purdue.edu
Source: Dan Carpenter, (765) 494-2099, dwcarpen@purdue.edu
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