OSU Thatcher Hall - ROTC Cadet Lounge Veterans Memorials & Hall of Honor

A significant number of individual veteran’s memorials are on display inside Thatcher Hall, in the Cadet Lounge (Room 117), in Room 326, and along the north 3rd floor hallway. Memorials are in memory of, and in tribute to, graduates of the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Program at Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College (OAMC) and Oklahoma State University (OSU). Memorials to fallen OAMC/OSU Army ROTC “Cowboy Battalion” officers include: Captain Harry L. Morris, OAMC-1939, U.S. Army (USA), died while a Prisoner of War (POW) in Japan in 1945, at the end of WWII; Captain David A. Peters, OSU-1966, USA, killed in action (KIA) in Vietnam on April 4, 1968; Captain Thomas E. Campbell, OSU-1967, USA, KIA in Vietnam on October 28, 1969; First Lieutenant Luke S. James, OSU-2002, USA, KIA in Iraq on January 27, 2004; and Major Scott A. Hagerty, OSU-1993, USA, KIA in Afghanistan on June 3, 2008. A memorial gift of a 14-foot mahogany conference table was donated to the Army ROTC Battalion in May, 2014, by Major Hagerty’s widow. It is located in the Battalion’s Conference Room/Senior Cadet Classroom, in Room 326 of Thatcher Hall, and bears a plaque to honor his memory. A POW memorial to honor Captain Edwin E. “Ed” Glover, OAMC ROTC Class of 1943, recognizes his service in WWII in France; Belgium, where he was wounded in action and taken as a POW by the Germans on September 5, 1944; and Germany, where he was incarcerated at STALAG IV-G and STALAG IIB. He was repatriated on April 16, 1945. A large POW/Missing in Action (MIA) memorial display case was installed in the Lounge in 2017. The OSU Air Force (USAF) ROTC Detachment 670, POW/MIA Display recognizes and memorializes six OAMC/OSU alumni - four former Vietnam War POWs: William Talley, USAF; Richard Francis, USAF; William Schwertfeger, USAF; and Johnnie Ray, USA; one Vietnam War MIA/KIA: Neil Bynum, USAF; and one WWII POW: Edwin Glover, USA. Colonel Talley donated several items for the display case, including a complete set of POW “pajamas,” that he wore during his captivity in the “Hanoi Hilton.” Additionally, Lieutenant Colonel Schwertfeger donated an aviator “Party Suit” that he wore in Thailand, prior to his capture and imprisonment in Hanoi. Colonel (Retired) Robert W. Vincent’s (OAMC-1941) distinguished service while an Army ROTC cadet at OAMC, and his subsequent service in the U.S. Army, U.S. Army Air Forces and United States Air Force, is memorialized in an oil painting, shadow box of military insignia, awards and decorations, service medals, and badges. In addition, an OSU Army ROTC Hall of Honor celebrates distinguished graduates, who were inducted in recognition of their “Cowboy” spirit and demonstrated leadership ability, during their outstanding service to the United States of America. Each honoree is represented by their portrait along the north 3rd floor hallway. The entire OAMC ROTC Class of 1943 was inducted into the Hall en masse, in recognition of their emergency call to active duty in WWII, on April 6, 1943, prior to graduation and commissioning. The 315 members of the Advanced ROTC Class of ’43 were inducted on April 6, 2003, at ceremonies at OSU, on the 60th anniversary of their wartime call-up. Their Class is the only OAMC/OSU class ever called to active duty prior to graduation and during a time of war. Army First (Master) Sergeant Blair “Glenn” Anthony was posthumously recognized by Oklahoma State University on February 19, 2010, for his service and sacrifice to the Nation, the “Cowboy Battalion”, and the University, by the naming of the Freshman Classroom (Room 210) in Thatcher Hall in his honor. Sergeant Anthony was a decorated and wounded combat veteran of the Vietnam War, an Army ROTC instructor for the Battalion, and following his retirement from military service, served as a Lieutenant with the OSU Police Department of Public Safety. He was the first, and to date (2017) the only Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) memorialized by the Battalion. A large “shadow box” display of his military awards and decorations and insignia, OSU Police Department insignia, and pictures of his service, was mounted on the wall at the entrance to the classroom at the dedication ceremony. It is inscribed: “In honor of 1SG Blair “Glenn” Anthony. His example of leadership, selfless service and commitment to his country will never be forgotten.” (Note: The “Hanoi Hilton,” was an infamous prison in Hanoi, North Vietnam, where American POWs were held during the Vietnam War. It was used as a place for the North Vietnamese to interrogate and torture captives, primarily military personnel, mostly Americans, and mainly pilots shot down during bombing raids. When prisoners began to be released from this and other North Vietnamese prisons in the late 1960s and early 1970s, their testimonies revealed widespread and systematic abuse of all American POWs.)