I wrote this as an e-mail back in 1998, it was eventually published in the "Texas Aggie" magazine:
No Place But Aggieland
About a week ago I got an e-mail from a co-worker explaining that a friend of hers was going to a wedding in Aggieland but thought all Aggies were jerks. My co-worker asked a group of us to write to the young lady and try to convince her otherwise. This is my response.
Dear Kristen:
You may be tired of getting Aggie e-mails by now, but I have one more for you. My name is Matthew and I have been an accountant for
Halliburton for about a year now. Before that I was at A&M. I was in the Corps of Cadets so that means I could probably write a book of stories for you, but I will just tell you one today.
In the spring of my sophomore year at A&M the Corps was having a formal
dinner in the dinning hall. In a tragic accident one of the other
sophomores in the Corps by the name of David Antonie ate a pecan in his
dessert. He had a severe allergic reaction to the pecan and in his room that night he passed away in the arms of his roommate, and at the side of his date, before the paramedics could even arrive.
Now, at most colleges this would have been a small side bar in the campus newspaper. But not at A&M. I got a call at 2:00 AM telling me what had happened. At 6:00 AM (this is a Saturday morning) I was in a meeting with other cadets where we talked about how we could help the family. By 8:00 AM we had flowers at his parents house. When his parents arrived we helped his parents around town and around campus.
But that isn't all. At A&M we have a tradition called Silver Taps. It is where students gather each month to commemorate other students who have died during that month. On the day of Silver Taps a notice is placed at the bottom of the flag pole in front of the Academic Building. That night about 10:00 all of the lights go out on campus and thousands of students all silently walk to the plaza where the ceremony is held. A 21 gun Salute is fired and a special rendition of Taps is played. The family of the passed away Aggie stand at a certain spot in the plaza. I will never forget the night of David Antoine's Silver Taps.
Because David was a sophomore in the Corps. We decided to do something
special. When the sun came up that day it rose on a wreath in the plaza, there was also a picture of David, and the pair of Senior Boots he would have worn had he lived to be a Senior. Two cadets were standing guard over this memorial. Every hour on the hour two other cadets dressed in their best uniform would arrive to relieve the two.
This went on until 10:00 that night when Silver Taps was about to begin. At 9:30 that night 400 Sophomore cadets in the Corps filed out of our dooms in our dress uniform and went to the site of the ceremony. We formed a human walk way leading up to the ceremony site for the parents to walk up. We wanted them to know we cared. About 10:00 all of the lights went out on campus and the students started to arrive. The bell tower started to softly chime Amazing Grace and other familiar hymns. The 400 sophomores and the few thousand students all stood there waiting in silence. Some praying, some listening to the hymns, some thinking about David and his parents, but we all stood waiting in the night. About 10 minutes before the ceremony his parents arrived. They slowly walked between the two lines of sharply dressed cadets. As they passed in front of us we would sharply pop to attention. Both of his parents were crying, his Mom kept quietly saying beneath her tears, "Thank you, thank you, God Bless all of you."
Minutes after his parents passed, in the far off distance we began to hear the perfectly synchronized steps of the Ross Volunteers. The "RV's" are an elite group of cadets chosen by their peers to serve in these situations. With all 21 of them in perfect step we could hear them get closer and closer. When they arrived the silent tension grew, we all knew what was about to take place. Without saying a word a loud crack pierced the night. It was the first 7 shots of the 21 gun salute. The next two volleys followed. Moments after the salute took place the Buglers played the slow and mellow version of taps three times. After the third time the student body slowly and silently left. All reflecting on the life of a cadet that very few of them knew. The only ones left were the parents, the Ross Volunteers, and a few cadets that knew David.
I know this all may seem strange, and it may not convince you that A&M is a decent school. But I can without a doubt tell you that the parents of David Antonie will always remember it. I can promise you that even though they didn't go to A&M they will be Aggies until the day they die. In the thank you letter they sent to the Corps they expressed their amazement that thousands of students that didn't know David would come to honor him when they could have been studying or partying at the Dixie Chicken. If you were able to speak with them you would be convinced. You would also be convinced if you could talk to the hundreds of other parents that have gone through the same thing, because this doesn't happen just once, it happens ever time a student on campus passes away. I know without a doubt that this happens in no place but Aggieland.
It may seem strange to you that we stand up at football games, or wear our rings with so much pride. But it is things like these that make me proud to be an Aggie. It makes me proud to have walked the same halls as Medal of Honor winners, it makes me proud to be apart of a school that cares so much about their students. This is why I get chills down my spine each time I hear the first few notes of the Aggie War hymn. This is why I have a hard time singing the "Spirit of Aggieland" without a tear rolling down my cheek.
You see, I spend my days in cubicle in Houston, but my heart is back in
Aggieland. My heart is back standing at attention at Silver Taps, my
heart is in Corps Dorm Four shining my Senior Boots and polishing my saber. It is with 1600 other cadets saluting the American Flag as it is raised each morning before breakfast on a brisk January day. And it is with the freshman of the Corps, going through the toughest year of their life, knowing it will make them a better person, but not knowing really how.
You see, US News and World Report can count how many books we have in our library and measure the quality of our professors and tell us we are the top public University in Texas, but if they could measure spirit, if they could measure camaraderie or the lessons learned outside of the classroom, then Texas A&M would be the top school in the nation, as it is in my heart.
