List of Virginia Military Institute alumni

This section's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. The reason given is: Gov. at least no longer current, Sec. Army and Sec. State likely aren't either. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (February 2022)

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As of 2020[update], Virginia Military Institute alumni include two previous Governors of Virginia, the current Secretary of the Army, a Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, two Lieutenant Governors of Virginia, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, Pulitzer Prize winners, 13 Rhodes Scholars, Medal of Honor recipients, an Academy Award winner, an Emmy Award and Golden Globe winner, a martyr recognized by the Episcopal Church, Senators and Representatives, Governors, Lieutenant Governors, a Supreme Court Justice, numerous college and university presidents, many business leaders (presidents and CEOs) and over 285 general and flag officers, including service chiefs for three of the four armed services.

Two recent Chiefs of Engineers of the Army Corps of Engineers, Lieutenant Generals Carl A. Strock and Robert B. Flowers, as well as Acting Chief of Engineers Major General "Bo" Temple, were VMI Civil Engineering graduates.[1]

VMI alumni include:

## Military

[edit]

Name  | Year  | Notes

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Edward M. Almond | 1915  | Commander of U.S. Army X Corps during Korean War
Fletcher C. Booker Jr. | 1941  | Pennsylvania National Guard major general. Commander of U.S. Army's 28th Infantry Division
Paul W. Brier | 1981  | U.S. Marine Corps major general. Commanding General, 4th Marine Division; Commander, U.S. Marine Forces Africa and Europe; Deputy Commander, NATO Resolute Support Mission.
William A. Brown | 1980  | U.S. Navy vice admiral, Deputy Commander, United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM)
Withers Burress | 1914  | Professor of Military Science and Tactics at VMI; Commanding General, U.S. Army 100th Infantry Division[2]
Richard E. Byrd | 1908  | U.S. Navy rear admiral, polar explorer, Medal of Honor recipient (1926)
Harold Coyle | 1974  | U.S. Army major; novelist
Samuel C. Cumming | 1917  | Decorated USMC Major General during World War II
Edward Edmonds | 1858  | Confederate Colonel of the 38th Virginia Infantry, killed-in-action during Pickett's Charge
Robert B. Flowers | 1969  | Lieutenant general and Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Lee S. Gerow | 1913  | Brigadier General, U.S. Army; Assistant Commanding General of the 85th Infantry Division. A younger brother of General Leonard T. Gerow.
Leonard T. Gerow | 1911  | General, U.S. Army; Commanding General, V Corps (1943–45) and U.S. Fifteenth Army (1945–48). Highly regarded by Eisenhower & Bradley.[3] Led at Omaha Beach[4] and Battle of the Bulge.
William H. Gill | 1907  | Major General, U.S. Army; Commanding General of the 32nd Infantry Division. President of Colorado College 1949-1955.
James B. Hickey | 1982  | Colonel and commander Operation Red Dawn, which captured Saddam Hussein
Thomas Goode Jones | 1863  | Withdrew before graduation to join Confederate Army; wounded in battle four times; Governor of Alabama.[5]
John P. Jumper | 1966  | Retired general and Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force
Charles E. Kilbourne | 1894  | Recipient of Medal of Honor and Distinguished Service Cross; lieutenant general, U.S. Army
James H. Lane | 1854  | Confederate brigadier general, fought in Pickett's Charge, civil engineering professor, and founder of Virginia Tech
W. Patrick Lang | 1962  | Retired U.S. Army Special Forces officer, intelligence executive, commentator on Middle East, and author
Cary D. Langhorne | 1894  | Medal of Honor recipient
Sumter de Leon Lowry Jr. | 1914  | Florida National Guard general and insurance executive. Veteran of World Wars I and II, received Distinguished Service Medal and Bronze Star.
George C. Marshall | 1901  | General of the Army, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army in World War II, Secretary of State (1947–49), Secretary of Defense (1950), and Nobel Peace Prize winner
Richard Marshall | 1915  | General during World War II
Frank McCarthy | 1933  | Brigadier general, U.S. Army Reserve. Producer of the 1970 Academy Award-winning movie Patton.
Ryan D. McCarthy | 1997  | Captain, U.S. Army, Secretary of the Army
John McCausland | 1857  | Confederate brigadier-general, served under General Jubal Early
Darren W. McDew | 1982  | General, U.S. Air Force, Commander, United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM). 1st African-American Regimental Commander of Corps of Cadets.
Shannon Meehan | 2005  | U.S. Army Captain, Bronze Star Medal recipient, author and veterans activist
Thomas T. Munford | 1854  | Confederate brigadier-general
Randolph McCall Pate | 1921  | U.S. Marine Corps general and twenty-first Commandant of the Marine Corps
George S. Patton Sr. | 1852  | Confederate colonel, 22nd Virginia Infantry; died in Battle of Opequon. Namesake son graduated from and grandson attended VMI.
George S. Patton | 1907  | U.S. Army general. Namesake grandfather and father were both VMI graduates. Attended from 1903 to 1904 as a member of the Class of 1907 before leaving to attend the United States Military Academy.
Richard H. Pearce | 1953  | U.S. Army Major, Bronze Star Medal recipient, Highest-ranking U.S. military officer to defect during the Cold War era[6] Pearce was granted asylum in Cuba.[7]
J. H. Binford Peay III | 1962  | U.S. Army general, commander 101st Airborne, commander United States Central Command, and 14th superintendent of VMI
Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller | 1922  | Resigned from VMI after freshman year to enlist as a private in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1918; became lieutenant general and most decorated Marine in U.S. history
Thomas F. Riley | 1935  | Brigadier general in the Marine Corps, served as Inspector General of the Marine Corps. Following his retirement, he served as Orange County Supervisor 1974–1994.
Robert E. Rodes | 1848  | Railroad civil engineer and Confederate major general killed at the Battle of Opequon in the Shenandoah Valley
Edward R. Schowalter Jr. | 1951  | Medal of Honor recipient; colonel, U.S. Army
George R. E. Shell | 1931  | Ninth Superintendent of VMI; Brigadier general, U.S. Marine Corps
Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr. | 1917  | U.S. Marine Corps general and 20th Commandant of the Marine Corps
Scott Shipp | 1856  | Superintendent of VMI (1890–1907). Led VMI cadets at New Market under Maj. Gen. John C. Breckinridge.
Adolphus Staton | 1899  | Medal of Honor recipient
Carl A. Strock | 1970  | U.S. Army lieutenant general and commander, Army Corps of Engineers
Clarence E. Sutton | 1890  | Medal of Honor recipient, resigned in 1888, did not graduate
Sun Li-jen | 1927  | Republic of China/Taiwan lieutenant general, Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War
Surapong Suwan-ath  | 1979  | Royal Thai Army General, Chief of Defence Forces, 2016-2017
Walter H. Taylor | 1857  | Confederate lieutenant colonel, General Robert E. Lee's aide-de-camp, lawyer, banker, author, railroad executive, Virginia state senator
William P. Upshur | 1902  | Medal of Honor recipient; Marine Corps major general; Commander, Dept. of the Pacific, 1940–42
James A. Walker | 1852  | Expelled in 1852 for "disobedience" in Stonewall Jackson's classroom, after challenging Jackson to a duel over a perceived insult. VMI granted him an honorary degree in 1872 in recognition of his Civil War service, where he rose to the rank of brigadier general and commanded the "Stonewall Brigade".[8]
Reuben Lindsay Walker | 1845  | Confederate brigadier general and artilleryman.

## Government and politics

[edit]

Name  | Year  | Notes

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Mitchell Werbell III | Unknown  | Mercenary
Harry F. Byrd Jr. | 1935  | U.S. Senator from Virginia (1965–83)
Tom C. Clark | 1921  | Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1949–67), United States Attorney General (1945–49)
Charles Allen Culberson | 1874  | U.S. Senator; Governor of Texas[9]
James U. Downs  | 1963  | Senior resident superior court judge in western North Carolina, 1983–2013; lawyer in Hickory and Franklin, North Carolina
Richard Thomas Walker Duke | 1844  | Confederate Colonel; Member of U.S. House of Representatives and Virginia House of Delegates
Grenville Gaines | 1874  | mayor of Warrenton, Virginia; lawyer and banker[10]
Elmon T. Gray | 1946  | Virginia State Senator
George W. Hardy Jr.  | 1920  | Mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana (1932–34); state circuit court of appeal judge (1943–67)[11]
William Mahone | 1847  | Confederate major general, Member of Virginia House of Delegates, U.S. Senator (1881–87), and railroad executive
Marshall McDonald | 1860  | U.S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries (1888–95)
Ralph Northam | 1981  | U.S. Army Medical Corps major, Virginia State Senator, 40th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, and 73rd Governor of Virginia
Lewis F. Payne Jr. | 1967  | Member of Congress from Virginia
Robert Reid | 1875  | Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court[12][13]
Henry G. Shirley | 1896  | Commissioner, Virginia Department of Highways
Joseph Short | 1925  | White House Press Secretary under Harry S. Truman
C. Bascom Slemp | 1891  | Representative for the Ninth Congressional District of Virginia; philanthropist
Ernest O. Thompson  | 1910  | General, Texas National Guard; Texas Railroad Commissioner, mayor of Amarillo, petroleum expert
Steven J. McAuliffe | 1970  | Senior Judge of the US District Court for the District of New Hampshire, husband of the late Christa McAuliffe who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

## Arts and entertainment

[edit]

Name  | Year  | Notes

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Mel Brooks | Did not graduate  | During World War II, the U.S. Army used VMI to give technical education and training to soldiers who did not matriculate as cadets nor live within the VMI cadet system. Before becoming a filmmaker, he trained at VMI for 12 weeks.[14]
Dabney Coleman | Did not graduate  | Movie and television actor, attended VMI for only two years[15]
John D. Ewing | 1913  | Publisher of Shreveport Times, 1931–52
Moses Jacob Ezekiel | 1866  | Sculptor
John Cherry Monks Jr. | 1932  | Playwright, actor, author, screenwriter, producer and World War II U.S. Marine
Fred Willard | 1955  | Comedic actor; U.S. Army officer

## Sports

[edit]

Name  | Year  | Notes

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Ron Carter | 1978  | former NBA shooting guard
Joe Fortunato | 1954  | former NFL linebacker
Ryan Glynn | 1995  | Professional baseball player in Japan
Sam Horner | 1959  | former NFL defensive back
Pete Johnson | 1958  | former NFL running back
Dan Lyle | 1992  | Captain of the USA Eagles national rugby team
Joe Muha | 1942  | former NFL fullback
Bosh Pritchard | 1941  | former NFL running back
Ray Reutt | 1942  | former NFL end
George Robison | 1951  | former NFL offensive guard
Bobby Ross | 1959  | Football coach of West Point, The Citadel, University of Maryland, Georgia Tech, San Diego Chargers and Detroit Lions
George Stallings | 1886  | Major League Baseball player and manager
Mark Stock | 1988  | former NFL wide receiver
Bobby Thomason | 1949  | NFL Pro Bowl quarterback
Reggie Williams | 2008  | Led NCAA Division 1 scoring in 2006 and 2007, playing for the Miami Heat in the NBA[16]
Mike Wooten | 1986  | former NFL center
Josh Winder | 2018  | MLB pitcher

## Others

[edit]

Name  | Year  | Notes

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James E. Brown III | 1976  | Fellow and past president of Society of Experimental Test Pilots and Fellow of Royal Aeronautical Society[17]
Josiah Bunting III | 1963  | Superintendent of VMI, 1995–2002; Rhodes Scholar; author
Jonathan Myrick Daniels | 1961  | American civil rights activist and one of fifteen modern-day Anglican Church martyrs[18]
Benjamin Franklin Ficklin | 1849  | A founder of the Pony Express
Robert Q. Marston | 1944  | President of University of Florida, Director of National Institutes of Health, Rhodes Scholar
Giles H. Miller  | 1924  | Banker, President of VMI Alumni Association, Director of The George C. Marshall Foundation
George S. Patton (attorney) | 1877  | California attorney and real estate developer. Namesake father also graduated from VMI and namesake son also attended VMI.
Jonathan Edwards Woodbridge | 1865  | Shipbuilder and naval architect
Richard Harwood Pearce  | 1953  | Defected to Cuba in 1967.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Stars Shine in Run-up to Commencement". The Institute Report. XXXI (7): 1 & 14\. 16 April 2004. Retrieved 2 November 2010.
2. ^ "Withers Alexander Burress". Arlington National Cemetery. Retrieved 2 Sep 2013.
3. ^ Weigley, Russell Frank (1 August 1990). Eisenhower's Lieutenants: The Campaign of France and Germany 1944–1945. Indiana University Press. pp. 758, n.6. ISBN 978-0-253-20608-4. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
4. ^ Balkoski, Joseph (10 July 2006). Omaha Beach: D-Day, June 6, 1944. Stackpole Books. pp. 15–16\. ISBN 978-0-8117-3376-2. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
5. ^ "Alabama Governor Thomas Goode Jones". National Governors Association. Retrieved 28 Aug 2013.
6. ^ "Highest-ranking officer to defect during in [sic] Cold War era was from Fort Sam - ExpressNews.com". www.expressnews.com. 15 July 2017.
7. ^ "Army Major Defects to Cuba With Son, 4, and Asks Asylum - A MAJOR DEFECTS TO CUBA WITH SON Flight Plan Filed Adviser to Vietnamese Cuba Announces Arrival Pearce's Friends Surprised - Front Page - NYTimes.com". The New York Times. 25 May 1967.
8. ^ "Civil War Generals. James A. Walker". Archived from the original on 27 August 2005. Retrieved 12 September 2005.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
9. ^ "Texas Governor Charles Allen Culberson". National Governors Association. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
10. ^ University of Virginia; its history, influence, equipment and characteristics, with biographical sketches and portraits of founders, benefactors, officers and alumni. Vol. 2\. Lewis Publishing Company. 1904. pp. 147–148. Retrieved 2023-04-27 - via Archive.org.
11. ^ "Appeal court judge, former mayor dies". Shreveport Journal. 17 July 1967. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
12. ^ "Robert Raymond Reid (1855 – 1923)". Louisiana Supreme Court. Archived from the original on 2019-06-09. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
13. ^ "Justice Robert R. Reid Passes Away At Home At Amite". The Monroe News-Star. January 15, 1923. p. 8.
14. ^ "Historical Vignette 109 – Mel Brooks Was a Combat Engineer in World War II". U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. August 2007. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
15. ^ "Dabney Coleman". February 2000.
16. ^ "Reggie Williams '08 Signs With NBA's Golden State Warriors". Virginia Military Institute. Retrieved 2 November 2010.
17. ^ Rogers, Paul (25 May 2006). "Keynote Speaker, James E. Brown III". U-Web Student Web Service. Santa Barbara, California: University of California Santa Barbara. Archived from the original on 9 December 2007. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
18. ^ "American martyr: Jonathan Daniels". Episcopal Church. 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2020-11-16.