List of Scabbard and Blade members

Scabbard and Blade (S&B) was an American collegiate military honor society. ^[1] It was founded at the University of Wisconsin in 1904. ^[1] Its membership was open to Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) cadets and midshipmen of all military services. It was founded as a men's organization and later became a co-educational society. Its membership categories included active, alumni, associate, and honorary. ^[2] Associate members included active or retired commissioned officers who did not join the society during college or civilian college officials. ^[2] Honorary membership was awarded to civilians for accomplishments and contributions to national defense. ^[2]

Following are some of the notable members of Scabbard and Blade.

Academia

• Joseph Bondy, chancellor of Syracuse University and New York State Assembly ^[3]
• Warren E. Bow, second president of Wayne University ^[4]
• Edward M. Coffman, military historian and professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison ^[5]
• Gaylord Harnwell, president of the University of Pennsylvania ^[6]
• Wendell Nedderman (1976), president of the University of Texas at Arlington ^[7]
• Kenneth W. Winters, president of Campbellsville University and Kentucky State Senate ^[8]

Business

• Daniel Guggenheim (honorary) mining magnate, philanthropist, who played a major role in aviation and rocketry ^[2]
• William Thornton Kemper Jr., banker and philanthropist ^[9]
• Conrad Prebys, property developer and philanthropist ^[10]
• Sam Walton, founding the retailers Walmart and Sam's Club ^[11]

Entertainment and literature

• Phil Harris, musician ^{[12] [2]}
• James Earl Jones, actor ^[13]
• Will Rogers (honorary) vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator ^[2]
• Terry Spear, novelist
• Fred Waring (honorary) musician, bandleader, choral director, and radio and television personality ^[2]

Law

• James E. Beasley Sr., trial lawyer
• Jerome O'Neill, United States Attorney for Vermont ^[14]

Military

• Marcus B. Bell, United States Army brigadier general ^[15]
• John P. Coursey, United States Army brigadier general ^[16]
• John A. Dabney, United States Army general
• Roger Donlon (honorary) first person to receive the Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War ^[2]
• Hugh Aloysius Drum, United States Army general ^{[17] [18]}
• Harold Keith Johnson, United States Army general who served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army ^[2]
• Benjamin Scovill Kelsey American aeronautical engineer and test pilot ^[19]
• Curtis E. LeMay, US Air Force general and Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force ^[2]
• Thomas J. Lynch, United States Army Air Forces pilotRobert Claude Maze, military officer and aviator ^[20]
• Edward J. O'Neill, United States Army general ^[21]
• Ralph A. Palladino, major general in the United States Army and recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal ^{[2] [22] [23]}
• John J. Pershing (honorary) United States Army general who commanded the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I, educator, and the founder of the Pershing Rifles ^[2]
• John C. Persons, United States Army general and lawyer ^[24]
• Kenneth R. Powell, United States Air Force general ^[25]
• Thomas L. Ridge, United States Marine Corps officer
• David M. Shoup, United States Marine Corps general ^[26]
• Jeffrey W. Talley, chief of Army Reserve and commanding general of the United States Army Reserve Command
• Lewis William Walt, United States Marine Corps general ^[2]
• William Westmoreland, 25th Chief of Staff of the United States Army ^[2]
• Lester J. Whitlock, United States Army major general ^[27]

Politics and government

• Joseph Bondy, New York State Assembly and chancellor of Syracuse University ^[3]
• John E. Davis, 25th Governor of North Dakota and director of the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency ^[28]
• Gwynn Garnett, administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service ^[29]
• Dennis Hightower (1960), United States Deputy Secretary of Commerce ^[30]
• Herbert Hoover, President of the United States ^{[12] [2]}
• Franklin D. Roosevelt (honorary) President of the United States ^[2]
• Dean Rusk, U.S. Secretary of State ^{[12] [2]}
• Kenneth W. Winters, Kentucky State Senate and president of Campbellsville University ^[8]

Science and technology

• Gene Cernan, NASA astronaut, electrical engineer, and aeronautical engineer ^{[2] [12]}
• Charles A. Lindberg (honorary) aviator who made the first nonstop flight from New York to Paris ^[2]
• Franklin Matthias, nuclear engineer ^[31]
• R. Tom Sawyer, inventor known as the "Father of the Diesel Locomotive" ^[32]
• Robert L. Stewart, NASA astronaut and United States Army brigadier general ^[33]
• John Young, astronaut and lunar explorer ^{[12] [2]}

Sports

• John F. Christhilf, college lacrosse player, inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame ^[34]
• Geary Eppley, University of Maryland athletic director and professor of agronomy ^[35]
• Jerry Richardson, former professional football player and owner in the National Football League ^[36]
• Norwood Sothoron, National Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee ^[37]
• Bobby Towns, professional football player ^[38]

See also

• List of Scabbard and Blade chapters

References

1. Robson, John, ed. (1963). Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities (17th ed.). Menasha, Wisconsin: The Collegiate Press, George Banta Company, Inc. pp. 690-691.
2. A Brief History and Pledge Manual (PDF). The National Society of Scabbard and Blade. 1981 – via Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Digital Library Collections.
3. Flansburgh, Dane (2019). "Chancellor William P. Graham Record: An inventory of his records at the Syracuse University Archives". Syracuse University Libraries. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
4. Lewis, Byron R. (January 1915). "Phi Chapter Honor Men" (PDF). The Emerald of Sigma Pi. Vol. 2, no. 2. p. 62. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016.
5. The Kentuckian (yearboo). Lexington: University of Kentucky, 1951. p. 312
6. "Gaylord P. Harnwell Papers | University Archives and Records Center". Penn Libraries. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
7. "Nedderman, Wendell H." UTA History Lab. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
8. "The Shield Yearbook". Murray State University Yearbooks. Murray State University: 47. 1957. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
9. "Interesting People: Bankers Kemper". The Missouri Alumnus. 21 (5): 9. January 1933.
10. ""Scabbard and Blade" | Archives Photograph Collection". Indiana University Bloomington. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
11. Sam Walton: Founder of the Walmart Empire By Katherine Krieg
12. "Scabbard and Blade Fraternity. Company E (Purdue University) | Archives and Special Collections". Purdue University. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
13. "Remembering 1LT James Earl Jones". U.S. Veterans Magazine. September 23, 2024. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
14. Kirschner, Kerry G., ed. (1968). Ye Domesday Booke (PDF). Washington, DC: Georgetown University. pp. 151, 388, 437.
15. University of Missouri (1915). The Savitar. Kansas City, MO: Union Bank Note Company. p. 95 – via Missouri Digital Heritage.
16. "RARE "Battleship Arizona" John P. Coursey Hand Signed Biography Todd Mueller COA | #3845453607". Worthpoint. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
17. Scabbard and Blade Journal, Volume 28, Issue 1, 1943, page 6
18. H.W. Wilson Company, Current Biography, 1941, page 239
19. Benjamin Scovill Kelsey (9 March 1906 – 3 March 1981)
20. "Military Flying, Lt Col Thomas J Lynch". 39th Fighter Sqadron Association. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
21. "Greig and O'Neill to Go to Indianapolis". The Vermont Cynic. Burlington, Vermont. March 8, 1924. p. 4. Retrieved April 21, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
22. "Ralph A. Palladino | Veterans Legacy Memorial". US Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
23. "Ralph Palladino | Hall of Valor". Military Times. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
24. "Persons, John Cecil, 1888-1974". Alabama Authors. Who Was Who in America, Vol. 6. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
25. "Major General Kenneth R. Powell". Air Force. Archived from the original on September 16, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
26. Boomhower, Ray (October 9, 2020). "Hoosier Warrior: Marine General David M. Shoup". Ray E. Boomhower's Books. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
27. "13 Students Pledged to Scabbard and Blade". The Oklahoma Daily. Norman, OK. October 20, 1923. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
28. "John E. Davis Papers, 1957-1960 | Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections". University of North Dakota. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
29. The Bomb Yearbook. Iowa State University. 1933. p. 105. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
30. "Hightower, Dennis F, MAJ". Together We Served. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
31. "Matthias, Frank T. (Award – June 3, 1931)". Clark County, Wisconsin History. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
32. The Makio. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University. 1923. p. 150 – via Internet Archive.
33. "Robert L. Steward (Brigadier General, USA, Ret.) NASA Astronaut (Former) | Biographical Data" (PDF). Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. December 1993. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
34. 1936 The Terrapin, p. 66, University of Maryland, 1936.
35. "From Landmark to Hallmark: The Geary L. Eppley Recreation Center" (PDF). Campus Recreation. University of Maryland, College Park: 9. Fall 2006. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
36. "Remembering Jerry Richardson '59". Wofford College Athletics. March 2, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
37. "Sothoron & Related Families". St. Mary's County Historical Society. p. 37. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
38. Smith, Loran (February 16, 2015). "Bobby Towns - Successful Athlete, Citizen, Teammate". University of Georgia Athletics. Retrieved April 20, 2025.