University Archives Photograph Collection, Military Training and Service Photographs 1896-1992

Established as a land-grant state college, North Carolina State University was required by law to include military training and education in its curriculum. N.C. State University's Department of Military Science and Tactics was introduced in 1894 under the direction of United States Navy Lieutenant Richard Henderson. Following World War I, the U.S. Army Reserve Officer Training Corps became the accepted method through which N.C. State, like other land-grant institutions, provided military training and education.

From 1919 to 1942, more than 14,600 students received military training in the Army ROTC program at N.C. State. Over 5,000 alumni, including more than 2,500 officers served in World War II. N.C. State was among 22 colleges and universities in the Army Specialized Training Division of the Fourth Service Command during the war, and it played a major role in supplying the U.S. Navy with reserve officers trained in diesel engineering.

Colonel Samuel A. Gibson was named head of military training and education at N.C. State after World War II, and he established a separate Air Force ROTC unit in 1951. A Naval ROTC program was not established until 1979 when it was expanded from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill through a cross-town enrollment agreement. All male students at N.C. State were required to enroll in two years of ROTC, but after the ROTC Vitalization Act of 1964 made it completely voluntary, N.C. State abolished the compulsory two-year requirement.

N.C. State alumni have achieved wide recognition in military service. Notable figures include General William C. Lee, "Father of the Airborne" and the first commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division, and General Maxwell R. Thurman, who led the 1989 invasion of Panama and was a principal architect of the all-volunteer Army. A total of 457 N.C. State alumni died during military service in World Wars I and II, Korea, and Vietnam.

Chiefly black-and-white photographic prints, 8 x 10 in. or smaller, documenting military training and education at North Carolina State University and the military service of people associated with N.C. State University. Some photographs were taken by N.C. State student and staff photographers, and some were taken by United States Army and Air Force photographers. Photographers are not identified on most photographs.

The collection shows N.C. State ROTC students involved in military drills, inspections, exercises, classroom education, social functions, and military life in general; also, military bands, parades, award presentations, decorations, and other ceremonies, including North Carolina Governor William Kerr Scott attending Army Day celebrations. It contains formal, informal, and group portraits of officers and cadets. Many are not identified, but notable military figures include N.C. State alumni generals Maxwell R. Thurman and William C. Lee, known as the "father of the Army's airborne command"; Captain F. E. Phelps, General Bruce Magruder, Colonel T. W. Brown, Colonel Samuel A. Gibson, and other commanding officers of N.C. State's Department of Military Science; and Colonel J. W. Harrelson, chancellor of N.C. State. Noteworthy alumni not pictured include Admiral David Worth Bagley and General William E. Ingram Jr.

The collection is organized by format: photographic prints and negatives. Arrangement is by University Archives Photograph Collection subject classification.

The nature of the NC State University Libraries' Special Collections means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The NC State University Libraries claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials.

The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.

This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which North Carolina State University assumes no responsibility.

[Identification of item], University Archives Photograph Collection, Military Training and Service Photographs, UA 023.021, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC

Digital copies of many photographs are available online.

• Bruce Winkworth Photographs, MSS 18

This is an open collection created by the University Archives from various sources.

Processed by Jonathan Underwood and Robert Burton, 2005 March

Encoded by Linda Sellars, 2006 May