I am considering downsizing a lot of the stuff I have lying around the house, which includes the pocket watch which was given to Corps Commander W.T. Burns, Jr. '20 by members of the Ross Volunteers. Burns served as captain (commander) of the RVs and it was their gift to him as he graduated from A&M. A side note: the Southern District of Texas was created by President Teddy Roosevelt for Burns' father to preside over.
Burns carried the watch religiously during his life after A&M. After he died in 1976, the watch passed to Burns' nephew, W.T. "Tom" Burns, II, who then gifted it to me in November 2002 after rebuffing efforts by Texas A&M University to obtain it. It was carried by numerous Corps commanders during Final Review in the years since. The watch was manufactured by Waltham in 1917. It is functional, but it needs some adjusting to keep correct time.
If anyone is interested in owning this piece of A&M history, I am happy to entertain offers to sell it. rtt dot texags at gmail
If you have John Adams' book Keepers of the Spirit, Burns appears on the title page.
From the 1920 Longhorn:
Burns carried the watch religiously during his life after A&M. After he died in 1976, the watch passed to Burns' nephew, W.T. "Tom" Burns, II, who then gifted it to me in November 2002 after rebuffing efforts by Texas A&M University to obtain it. It was carried by numerous Corps commanders during Final Review in the years since. The watch was manufactured by Waltham in 1917. It is functional, but it needs some adjusting to keep correct time.
If anyone is interested in owning this piece of A&M history, I am happy to entertain offers to sell it. rtt dot texags at gmail
If you have John Adams' book Keepers of the Spirit, Burns appears on the title page.
From the 1920 Longhorn:
