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White Knights
Precision Drill Team
White Knights Precision Drill Team |
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Original White Knights 1950
1998 White Knight Commander, James E. Byrd, accepts a copy of the first photograph take of the Original 1950 White Knight from Co-Founder Gene Hyche The Marion Military Institute White Knights The Beginning
White Knight Co-Founders, Gene Hyche and Bill Walker, 1950 The beginnings for the White Knights has to begin with a little background. Bill Walker (W.G.) from Alexander City, AL was a returning veteran from the US Army. Bill had served in Berlin, Germany while in the service in General Lucius D. Clay’s ‘Berlin Honor Guard’. This unit was a group that represented the ‘elite’ of the US Army at a time when Berlin was governed by several nations and it was most important that each show their best. Everyone in the ‘Berlin Honor Guard’ was a 6 footer, an excellent marcher, made a terrific personal appearance, and looked as if he did this sort of thing everyday, all day. In other words ‘the best of the best’. Bill was in ‘B’ Company and so lived downstairs in South (Lovelace Hall). Steve Finch, Gadsden, AL, was the Company Commander and I was his First Lt. in the first platoon. Bill had told me that he would be happy to help me make the 1st Platoon the best-drilled platoon in the Battalion. Of course, at that time, I had no idea what his background was or that he was from the ‘best’. On one afternoon, he came down to our room, Steve and mine, and sat down for some conversation (cadets use a different term) and enthralled us with some stories about General Clay’s Honor Guard until dinner. Their main job was to show up every other nation’s soldiers all the time. They trained many hours each day and usually performed every day. During the next several days Steve and I invited Bill to recite more and more stories to us and each time we were more impressed. I remember that I finally asked if maybe we shouldn’t do something like that at MMI. Develop a platoon that was not tricky but very precise and wear special equipment and be made up of the best marchers in the Battalion. Over the next several days the three of us talked a great deal about it and wrote down even more ideas. Steve and I went to see Col. Robinson and told him what we wanted to do. And so he went along with us, but we had to do more planning and then come back to him. Now we got a surprise (I am not too sure about the following, but I will trust my memory. Others may correct me.) Col. Robinson called us into his office, he was Commandant, and told us that Steve was going to be the Battalion Commander and that he was not going to be in this platoon because he would have more for Steve to do. So that was that! Bill and I continued and drew up our plans and Col. Robinson gave us the go-ahead. And so, at lunch a few days later, we had an announcement made that a special platoon was going to be formed and it was going to be made up of only the best marchers in the Battalion. And don’t come out to the tryouts unless you think that you are the best. We said that everyone would get a fair trial but only the best would make it. I remember that Bill told me that he wanted to see some of the guys fighting over who was the best. I told him that arguing about it would be good. Bill, said "Hell, I mean fist fights and we will make a circle and let ‘em go at it." Bill could be a pretty intense person and I mean that in a good sense too. On any number of occasions we got into some pretty intense discussions about many things. An when Bill figured that he was not going to win in one of these discussions he would snap back and say "Yes sir, no problem sir." He simply wanted me to know that he was a team man and he would do whatever was necessary. Our first day of tryouts, almost a third of the Corps showed up! Bill and I had expected 50-60, maybe. It took us over two weeks to do the tryouts and everybody had a good shot. We drilled 3-5 days a week for 2-4 hours each day. I remember a couple of days that it was dark and I could hardly see anybody. Finally, the roster was set, four squads of nine men each, a front guide, a rear guide, and myself. Everyone should understand that there were more than forty men involved with the WK’s that year. There may have been more than the 43 that I have listed. Our training regime was pretty tough because we had no movements and everybody was told that we would do it if we were the best and to settle for anything less was out of the question. We had some guys who could not devote as much time as we demanded because of their studies and had to drop out. We even had a few who got into PT trouble and were forced to drop by the wayside. The ROTC Department had to be involved because we had to have rifles at odd times. Col. Ellis Marsh assigned Sgt. Ralph Glendening, a veteran of the 82nd Airborne Division and the Normandy airborne assault. He was a soldier who stood ramrod straight and was tough as railroad spikes. He watched us, guided us, gripped at us, hollered at us and supported us all the way. As we progressed in our efficiency and got to where we looked very good as a unit Col. Marsh assigned still another man to assist us. Sgt. Tom Hamilton, a Canadian who came to the US Army in an interesting way. First, he had joined the British Army from Canada. Then he volunteered for the British Commando’s and went on the 5,000 plus men who conducted a raid on Dieppe in France prior to the Normandy invasion. It was a disaster and very few of the men returned from it. When they did return they were offered any assignment that they requested. And so Hamilton was assigned to a AAA Battery in London. He tired of this and still felt the effect of his wounds and was discharged. He returned to Canada and quickly went to the United States where he joined the US Army. Sgt. Hamilton was quite a soldier to say the least. He and Glendening worked everyday with us and jumped on us about everyday too. One day, Tommy asked if we would like to add a little flair to our march? He then taught us the high arm swing that the British use. By now, we were about the hottest thing going anywhere! Anyone who doubted it could ask and we would all have told you how great we really were! Who were we? What was our name? We didn’t have one. As was the custom, we made an announcement at the Mess Hall that all the guys in the ‘crack drill platoon’ meet after dinner in the Math Building to find a name for the platoon (the math building was a white wooden building between the Chapel and Lovelace Hall). The first night anyone who had an idea for a name was to write it down and I wrote all of them on the black board. As I recall we wound up with about 10 different names. A number of guys discussed the pros and cons of each name and we discussed them. The next night we met again, at the Math Building, and we discussed all of them some more. At this point we began to eliminate one here and one there. This process continued for a couple of hours, as I remember. All the names were talked about until we decided that we should vote and the name with the most would be our name. I do remember this, this process was considered serious and the ‘original’ guys took this night seriously. We voted and the name "WHITE KNIGHTS" won. The ‘original’ White Knights hollered, whistled, and yelled for several minutes….we were proud of our name! For several days when I would pass some on the campus the would say "White Knights" and keep on walking. To say that we were proud of our new name is an understatement. I am still proud to be a White Knight…….50 years later! I cannot remember all the names that were considered and I invite others to supply them. Some of them were: Marion Rifles, Blue Fusiliers (sp), Blue Knights, Marching Fusiliers, Marion Sabres, Blue Sabres, Marion Fusiliers, Blue & White Knights, Marion Marching Knights and I know that I have forgotten some of them. The name was announced in the Mess Hall the next day and the Skirmisher made it big headlines in their next issue. We held meetings to decide what the White Knights would wear next. And we were all over the place with that, but decided that we wanted white helmets, whit ascots, white gloves and white leggings. So I went to see Col. Robinson and get us some money. The Col. told that it would be much more effective if I went in to see the President and got the money. Unbeknownst to me, Col. Robinson had already gone in to see Col. J.T. and got turned down so he was going to send me in to get burned now. Well, I went to the barracks and talked to Bill, took a shower, and put on a new khaki uniform. Mrs. Wilkerson was in the office and I told her that I wanted to see Col. Murfee. I went in and really gave Col. J.T. a story about how great we were going to be and all we needed was about $1,000.00 and we would be outfitted first class. He never blinked and said something like, "Mr. Hyche, I find that these trick drill platoons usually last 2-3 years and I can’t give MI’s money to such a temporary thing." After the story that I told…how could he refuse to give me some money? The White Knights did not have a dime. Sgt. Glendening went scrounging and he came back and said he could get us some OD helmets and OD leggings over at Craig AFB for almost nothing. Then, the White Knights voted to buy our stuff ourselves because we can paint all that stuff easy as pie. We came up with the money and the Sgt. came back in loaded for bear. Some of the Knights went up to the hardware store and cried on someone’s shoulder and got 5-6 gallons of white enamel paint. Someone else went to Mickelboro’s and bought some white sheets. We were cookin’ now! About half the White Knights went up into the attic of North Barracks measured and cut the sheets into triangles for ascots. The others painted the helmets and leggings with the white enamel. A day to dry and we would be ready…but wait…the helmets have got to be ‘dressed’ up some. We went to the QM and bought every MMI decal that Mr. Montgomery had. We ‘trimmed’ them up a bit and pasted one on each side of every helmet. Our First Show Our first show was here… in Bessemer, Alabama at the Snitz Snider Stadium for a football game. We got there and we were the halftime show. We were good and we felt it by the end of our first show! People in the stands went crazy at the Counter 7 and the Finger Spread. For those who haven’t figured it yet. The ‘original’ White Knights originated several of the movements that are still in use 50 years later. One thing that we did not and would not put in was the Queen Anne Salute. Every drill team in the country did that one. I vowed that I would never perform that movement in the White Knights and we never did. Not to take anything away from our brothers who followed us, but remember this… the ‘original White Knights started with nothing and went on to build a good solid foundation for all to follow and build on. There was a price to be paid though. Remember the white enamel? We had 40 White Knights who could barely walk when we finished the show…the paint on the leggings was as stiff as boiler plate steel. We must have had 1,000 blisters on our ankles and feet and not a White Knight missed a step. Mrs.Burke saw all of us when we got back to school. It may seem funny now, but that night it was not the least bit humorous. Our bed sheets did well. At school dances the WK’s would do the crossed sabres and do escort duty for different functions. Some even went over to Judson and looked pretty for a couple of their functions. There is no doubt that when a full General sends his automobile and a bus to pick you up that you have got to put out your best. I am a little bit ahead of myself though. We had been getting some notoriety and the school had too. Some of the corps had begun coming out to watch us practice. The Knights had worked very hard many days to get to be the best of the best and they knew that they were good too. Col. Marsh added Capt. Ben Marshall, as our Advisor. Capt. Marshall was an Infantry Officer who had been a fighter pilot during WWII. He was a real sharp soldier and was a great help in a number of ways. He told us that this was going to be a show on concrete and that there would be a huge crowd. This was going to be the place to show what we were made of. The first thing Bill Walker did was to tell everybody to take their shows uptown or to Selma and get the biggest taps they could find and put them on the toe and heel of each shoe (anybody that thinks that we weren’t gonna do some stylin’ is crazy). This is where that I could have gotten too cute for all of us. I wanted to do a 40-minute show in silence. Several Knights told me that I was an idiot so I cut it to 23 minutes (I used to have a copy of it but it has long since vanished). We worked on it many hours and finally got the cadets in the Skirmisher office to copy it for us. It was the best show that we ever put on. Not a single miscue! After the Air Force Drill Team was on, we were to enter the area from behind a big hanger. We started up with "Knights Attenshut", "Forward March". After that…. all you could hear were the taps hitting the concrete and it was loud too! I remember that the people began to applaud us very loudly and that’s all we needed! Our feelings were that we were really ‘stylin now’! It was fantastic and we knew that day we were the best! Our confidence was at the top of the chart; we had done the best after 23 minutes of nothing but taps slapping the ground and gloved hands popping rifle slings. At the end of the show and we were back in a locker room changing clothes Capt. Marshall came to the door and motioned for me. I went outside and noticed that his face was really red. My first thought was that we somehow screwed up somewhere, so I asked what was wrong? He began smiling and said "Commander, I just got my butt chewed out by an Air Force Colonel from the Pentagon and he is in command of the Air Force Drill Team that the Air Force flew down here from Washington. And he wants to know who the hell that I think that I am to bring a bunch of school boys to Maxwell AFB and make the Air Force Drill Team look like a bunch of dummies?" I have to say, "Made my day". I will say this; we had gotten new leggings and had done a much better job on the helmets before we went to Maxwell AFB. I am sure that I will think of other things to add to this, but this will give a fair picture of how this all started. I am so very proud to have been a part of the White Knights; I remember those practices where we yelled at one another. I remember those times when we worked just to try and make ourselves look like we were the best. I remember just a few weeks ago when I heard from Preston Graves, a cousin of Bill Walker’s, that Bill had died 10 years ago. We were not real close friends, but it hurt to hear it for several days. Bill should be here this year to be a part of this. I remember last year when I gave the first picture ever made of the White Knights to the school. I didn't say it then, but I will now. I have always thought first of the dedication of the ‘original’ White Knights to the job at hand. The picture was made in khakis because not everyone had received their Blue’s. All were a very dedicated lot or the Knights might not have lasted 50 years. We have some that are not with us any longer and we have some that we can’t find, and they all need to be able to see what will be happening next week at the 50th Anniversary. Gene Hyche MMI ’52 On the occasion of the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the White Knights during Alumni Day on April 24, 1999. |
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Webmaster: Rodney B. Wilkerson WK '74 Page Last Updated: 11/26/2007 Copyright © 1999 White Knights All Rights Reserved |
