About AFROTC
Who are we?
Where do we come from?
Following World War II, the United States began providing military assistance to South Korea to counter an attack by North Korean forces. As the Korean War escalated, the prospects of United States involvement in the conflict pressed upon Manhattan College, and a renewed uncertainty concerning military service gripped the campus. Substantial apprehension existed over a proposed military training bill in Congress, The Universal Military Training and Service Act, which threatened to disrupt the college population and virtually eliminate the incoming freshmen class.
To counteract a potential mass exodus of students to military service, Manhattan College secured an Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps (AFROTC). On April 22, 1951, Detachment 560 was formally established and in July 1951, over 850 cadets filled the ranks of its first unit. Appointed to the post of Commanding Officer was Lt. Col. W. T. Welter, a man with fourteen years of experience in the Air Corps while second in command and pro tem Commanding Officer of the group was Major J. E. Murtha.
The unit was assigned five training options including flight operations, general technicians, armament, comptrollership, and administration & logistics. In addition to academics, students engaged in drill lessons and summer training programs. Almost immediately, during the 1951-1952 academic year, students arranged their schedules, were issued uniforms and supplies, obtained a drill field and settled down to the new life of AFROTC cadets.
In early September 1951, drills were held on Barnard High School’s athletic field, currently Horace Mann School, on the hill behind the Manhattan College campus. By mid-February 1952, mass drills were held in Croke Park, later renamed Gaelic Park, and by the beginning of March, these “Manhattan Men” began to look like Air Force Cadets.
With the establishment of the AFROTC program came the Arnold Air Society, an honor society whose mission was to “further the purpose, mission, tradition and concept of the United States Air Forces as a means of national defense, promote American citizenship, create a close and more efficient relationship among AFROTC of cadets.” On February 7, 1952, the Major William J. H. Holohan Squadron of the Arnold Air Society was chartered, named on behalf of Major William Vincent Holohan, Manhattan College Class of 1925, who died in service of his country during the Second World War. Under its sponsorship, students attended the first military ball ever held at Manhattan College.
In the fall of 1951, the cadet band was formed under the direction of Lt. William J. Vogel. Composed entirely of cadet musicians, the squadron provided music for all official functions, including the widely celebrated St. Patrick’s Day Parade. In fact, St. Patrick’s Day 1952 was the “Coming Out” party for the Air Force reservists, and come out they did—800 strong. Marching up Fifth Avenue behind the AFROTC Band, they were rewarded for many weeks of work by winning the admiration of the crowds along the line of march.
Since its establishment on campus, the AFROTC also organized a highly successful rifle team. The Pershing Rifles were a national society founded in 1894 by General John J. Pershing “to foster a spirit of friendship and cooperation among men in the military department and to maintain a highly efficient drill team.” It was a military and social fraternity with companies in all major colleges and universities in the United States. The Manhattan College contingent worked hard during the 1951-1952 academic year receiving thorough instruction on small arms of all types. In October 1952 the unit was accepted into the national society and was given the designation of Company U-8. This handful of sharpshooters began their practices at the 168th Street Armory until a rifle range was added to the campus in the basement of Cardinal Hayes Library.
When the Hayden Science Building was officially opened in 1952, the AFROTC established its headquarters on the first floor. The integration of Air Force blue-gray uniforms into the Manhattan College community affected positive change in scenery and attitude on campus. In addition to drill exercises and the Military Ball, which quickly proved the highlight of the social season, the AFROTC periodically sponsored various lectures, masses, public information films, and tea dances. With its establishment on Manhattan College’s campus, the Air Force ROTC provided an opportunity for entrance into the leadership of one of the primary means of national defense – Air power!