U.S.M.C. Silent Drill Platoon in action.

Excellent performance. I was in the "Kentucky Rifles" Drill Team at Kentucky Military Institute for my first two years, and have a through knowledge of just how hard it is to become that well coordinated. We used the M-1 Garrand with fixed bayonets and white slings. Eleven point six pounds of sheer torture! :biggrin-new:

I do wish though that they'd done the rippled "Queen Anne Salute" for their finale...
 
There's several of their performances on YT. I've even seen one where one of the members goofed up. He had to drop for ten right there on the spot!
 
Bushpounder said:
It was a great school. It is a shame it is gone. Go in a boy, leave a man. While I usually don't like to use Wikipedia, in this case I know the information is good. See how KMI matched up. I'll bet we had a similar start!
Click to expand...
Well Don, one thing both La Salle and KMI had in common is that both school's yearbooks were named "The Sabre!" :encouragement:

One other commonality was that both closed soon after going co-ed... Gah, I was looking awhile ago at the very L O N G list of Military Schools that have been closed.
 

Attachments

  • KMI_drillteam.jpg
    KMI_drillteam.jpg
    42 KB · Views: 0
Last edited:
Yep - LSMA went co-ed way after I left. I can't imagine that. Many of the old Military Academies are long gone. I'll bet a lot of the MA yearbooks were called The Sabre! LOL! I still have all my uniforms. Ours were made by Brooks Brothers in New York. We had to go into the city and be measured for them. It was a fun time. They worry about kids carrying knife blades now. Hell, we carried sabres! NEVER an incident! I still talk (Facebook) with people I graduated with 40+ years ago, almost on a daily basis. We were, and still are, members of the long, gray line.

Don
 
I have only my dress uniform left, which of course I couldn't possibly fit into from the time I turned 20 some 45 years ago! These days I resemble this fellow: :snowman:

One thing I did notice though is that KMI produced more Hollywood alumni that nearly any other school such as Jim Bakus, Victor Mature, and Fred Willard. Jim Bakus was expelled for riding a horse through the mess hall. Victor Mature was tossed out after two years for being belligerent and undisciplined at the "mature" age of fourteen. :biggrin-new:

Here is an ancient black & white picture of the "Kentucky Rifles Drill Team" at the school's winter campus in Venice, Florida. The team have just completed our signature "Queen Anne Salute" maneuver. I am one of the co-commanders on the front right.
View attachment 12385
 
I have some very colorful alumni as well! LOL! Wikipedia has a short list. I went to your school site and saw the pictures. There were several Northern schools that wintered in Florida, even into the 70s and 80s from memory. We were lucky and spent all year in the beautiful climate of New York. LOL! I wasn't on the Rifle drill team, but I was on the school rifle team. I qualified as a sharpshooter. Great afterschool activity! Many of the buildings on campus are now in total disrepair. There was even talk of some alums buying the property and opening the school one day. I think that tanked. I have no idea what the future holds for the property. I know the mansion is well used as a venue for weddings, etc.. It too has changed, but it is still stately and was repaired and is well maintained now. I could tell a million stories as I am sure you could. It was a whole different way of life compared to a public school. Way more adventurous. Smoking was allowed from 10th grade on. I'm going to go back to your school site somemore. There is a lot to see. Oh - that was also the last time my waist was a 28! LOL!

Don
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top