News
UPCOMING EVENTS
There will be a very special service at Memorial Church on Veterans Day, Wednesday 11 November 2009 at 11 AM, at which Harvard’s 10 recipients of The Medal of Honor will be honored and memorialized (click on CMOH list below). Reverend Peter Gomes will officiate, with participation by President Drew Faust, a US Military representative, the Harvard ROTC Color Guard, University Choir and others. The highlight of this memorable event will be the unveiling, dedication and presentation to The University of a handsome, slate Medal of Honor plaque which will be placed in the sanctuary of the church.
Please check back soon for updates to this section.
Recent Events
General David Petraeus visited Harvard for 2 events this spring. In late April he made a presentation to a packed Kennedy School Forum, which was followed by his speech at a formal dinner event which honored the 150 Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who are currently studying at Harvard graduate schools. General Petraeus then appeared at the Harvard ROTC Commissioning Ceremony in early June, attracting a crowd of 2,000+ to hear him speak to new officers on “Lessons of Leadership.”
HVAO provided financial support to the HKS’ Armed Forces Club “Day at West Point” in April. Thirty Kennedy School students – some military, some not – were treated to an inside look at the USMA, visiting classes and meeting with cadets and staff throughout a typical class day.
HVAO also sponsored two Beer Calls at Tommy Doyle’s in Harvard Square this spring. These are popular, casual events for members – some signed up there – to meet ‘n greet, and we will scheduled one for October, for all.
For the second year, we placed a fine looking ad in the Commencement Edition of The Harvard Crimson, in which “We salute the many Veterans and members of the US Military who are receiving their Harvard degrees today.”
HVAO also sponsored two Beer Calls at Tommy Doyle’s in Harvard Square this spring. These are popular, casual events for members – some signed up there – to meet ‘n greet, and we will schedule one for October, for all.
For the second year, we placed a fine looking ad in the Commencement Edition of The Harvard Crimson, in which “We salute the many Veterans and members of the US Military who are receiving their Harvard degrees today.”
HVAO also sponsored a Commencement Week gathering at the outdoor bar of Legal Seafoods, in The Square. About 25 of us, including a number of reunioners, enjoyed a couple of hours in the sun, sharing our stories as Harvard Veterans.
THE US MILITARY AT HARVARD TODAY
It is interesting to note that, on any given day, there are more than150 members of the Armed Forces of the United States present in the classrooms and activities of Harvard University.
There are approximately 85 returning Veterans who are pursuing degrees at the Harvard Business School, while 60, mostly active duty officers , are in Master’s Degree or Executive programs at the Harvard Kennedy School. There are small numbers of Veterans at other Harvard Graduate Schools, and 35 or so students are in the ROTC program at Harvard College, which is administered through the Paul Revere Battalion at MIT.
CHAIRMEN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF - THE HARVARD CONNECTION
President George W. Bush, HBS Class of 1975, has nominated Admiral Mike Mullen to the post of Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff. Mullen, currently Chief of Naval Operations, would be the 17th Chairman, replacing Marine General Peter Pace.
Mullen is a graduate of the HBS Advanced Management Program, while Pace did his Harvard tour at the Kennedy School of Government’s "Senior Executives in National and International Security” program.
They were preceded to the assignment by Colin Powell, LLD 1993, who served as the 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and Air Force General Richard Myers, the 15th Chairman, who also completed the "Security Program" at KSG.
FEATURED ARTICLES
Medal of Honor Recipients from Harvard University
SELECTED ARTICLES
WHY HARVARD HARASSES THE MILITARY
WARTIME LEGALITIES
WHY HARVARD HATES AMERICA
RIDING WITH THE PAUL REVERE BATTALION
Active Duty Officers and Veterans at HKS Answer the Call to Public Service through Military Service (Harvard Kennedy School, March 08)
SCHOLARS AND THE MILITARY SHARE A FOXHOLE, UNEASILY (The New York Times, Dec 07)
BONDS OF WAR (Boston Globe, Dec 07)
ROTC GUARD TO GREET FAUST (Harvard Crimson, Oct 07)
THE FEW. THE PROUD (PDF)
Reprinted from Proceedings with permission; Copyright © 2007 U.S. Naval Institute/www.usni.org.
HONORING VETERANS (Boston Globe October 07)
ON CAMPUS & IN TRAINING. (Boston Globe Sept 07)
CONTROVERSY at HARVARD (Boston Globe Sept 07)
THE PATRIOT AND THE PRESIDENT (Boston Globe June 07), by Brian Wright O'Connor
‘FORTUNATE SONS’ SHOULD HAVE TO SERVE (KSG 13 March 07), by Elaine Kamarck
HERE FROM OVER THERE, (Harvard Crimson, 18 April 07), by Charles Melvoin
CRIMSON AND CAMOUFLAGE, (Boston Globe, 25 February 07)
A small sampling of Harvard Veterans in service:
Major General Leonard Wood
(Harvard Medical School, Class of 1883; Medal of Honor Recipient; Commander "Rough Riders”
The U.S.S. Harvard
(a brief, but more interesting story than sistership USS Yale, during the Spanish American War)
Norman Prince, and The Lafayette Escadrille
(this graduate of the Harvard Class of 1908, and the Law School, was a founder, in 1916, of the French aero squadron, to become known as the Lafayette Escadrille. Like many young Harvard men, Norman Prince volunteered to help France in her dire situation, long before the United States joined World War I.. He was among those killed in the effort.)
Quintin Roosevelt
Quentin Roosevelt is one of more than 1,100 Harvard War Dead whose names are engraved on the walls of Memorial Church in Harvard Yard. This article also includes 3 of Harvard's Medal of Honor Recipients, his father President Thodore Roosevelt, his brother Theodore Jr; and General Leonard Wood.
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Harvard's Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients (click to view)
(courtesy of Paul Mawn, H’63, Capt-USN(Ret.), Chairman Advocates for Harvard ROTC)
Brigadier General Hazard Stevens: Harvard Class of 1865, U.S. Volunteers (Army)
"for gallantry while leading the assault and capture of Ft. Hunger, VA)
Major General Manning Ferguson Force: Harvard Class of 1845, U.S. Ohio Volunteers
"for bravery in Sherman’s 1864 campaign to capture and defend Leggett’s Hill”
General Henry W. Lawton: Harvard Law Class of 1866, U.S. Army
"for heroic leadership during Sherman’s Georgia campaign in 1864"
Colonel Leonard Wood: Harvard Medical School, Class of 1884, U.S. Army
"for carrying dispatches over 100 miles of hostile territory in the Indian campaigns in the 1880's”
Colonel Theodore Roosevelt: Harvard Class of 1880, U.S. Volunteer Mounted Cavalry
"for bravery in 1898 in leading the charge up and capturing San Juan Hill”
Walter Newell Hill: Harvard Class of 1904
received the Medal of Honor while leading his Marine Company “with conspicuous skill and courage” in the Battle for Vera Cruz, Mexico, in April 1914.
Captain George G. McMurtry: Harvard Class of 1899, U.S. Army National Guard
"As commanding officer of 2nd Battalion, 308th Infantry at Argonne Forest in 1918"
Major Charles W. Whittlesly: Harvard Law Class of 1908, U.S. Army
"for refusing to surrender, and holding line when surrounded by Germans at Argonne in 1918"
Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt: Harvard Class of 1909, U.S. Army
"for leadership while C.O. 4th Infantry, and senior officer in charge on Utah Beach on D-Day1944
2nd Lieutenant Sherrod E. Skinner: Harvard Class of 1951, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve
"for conspicuous gallantry in the Korean War; killed when he covered a grenade to save his men”
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Harvard's Recent ROTC Graduates (click to view)
2009
U.S. Army
- Thomas M. Barron
- Daniel K. Bilotti
- Roxanne E. Bras
- Vincent M. Chiappini
- Andrei M. Doohovskoy
U.S. Marine Corps
- Joseph M. Kristol
- Domenico A. Pellegrini
- Daniel G. West
2008
U.S. Army
- Jason Scherer
- J. Danielle Williams
U.S. Navy
- John D. Reed
U.S. Air Force
- Michael J. Arth
- Roberto A. Guerra
2007
U.S. Army
- Jukay Hsu
- Robert Huefner
U.S. Navy
- John Cancian
- Donald M. Coates
- Erika E. Helbing
- Patrick Morrissey
- Erik Sand
- Meredith Ellen Sandberg
- Jonathan Sieg
- Danielle Thiriot
- Aaron Woodside
U.S. Air Force
- Lauren L. Brown
2006
U.S. Army
- James Dowell
- Rachel Sarvis
- Brandon Trama
U.S. Navy
- Peter Brooks
- Catherine Cohn
- William Craig
- Joseph Payne
- Andrew Salamon
- Charles Schellhorn Jr
2005
U.S. Army
- William Francis Conners
- Dan Kanivas
- Elliott Nickolas Neal
U.S. Navy
- Stephanie Haynsworth Hendricks
- David Gardner Patterson
- Sean Daniel Wilson
U.S. Air Force
- Nicholas Terrell Siler
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Some books with a Harvard-U.S. Military connection. Suggestions most welcomed!
This Republic of Suffering, by Drew Gilpin Faust, President of Harvard University
(This is a very difficult, but also enlightening, study of the scope and impact which the enormous carnage on our Civil War battlefields had on the peoples of both the North and South, for generations. Drew Gilpin Faust is a noted historian of the Civil War period, and she has dedicated this book to her father, with proud emphasis on his service in the U.S.Army in World War II.)
Harvard's Civil War, by Richard F. Miller. "A compelling history of the 20th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, known as the Harvard Regiment due to its large number of Harvard educated officers."
My Deteachment: A Memoir, by Tracy Kidder, Harvard Class of 1966 ( a recounting of his year as a U.S. Army intelligence officer in Vietnam)
The Nature of Sacrifice: A Biography of Charles Russessl Lowell,Jr.,1835-64, by Carol Bundy
(leading scholar of the Harvard Class of 1854, mortally wounded at the Battle of Cedar Creek, while leading his regiment - the Second Massachusetts Calvary, he became a symbol of idealism in action)
One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer, by Nathaniel Fick, student at Harvard Law
(This Dartmouth College graduate writes of his personal experience in the Marines, which included 2 tours as a combat platoon leader in Iraq and Afghanistan)
MY AMERICAN JOURNEY, by Colin Powell, Harvard LLD 1993
(wonderul memoir by the nation's former number-one soldier, and number-one statesman)
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