Rare color video of A&M's Final Review in 1942

The family of Hughes “Buddy” Seewald ’42 shared this video with Texas A&M in 2012, on the occasion of Seewald’s induction into the Corps Hall of Honor. That's Seewald at the start of the video, and he appears in other clips as well:

Immediately before this Final Review, on that same morning of May 16, 1942, some 529 of these Aggie seniors had been commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. armed forces.  

It was five months after the U.S. had entered World War II.

The new officers “are expected to go to active duty within two months,” wrote the Bryan Eagle on May 5.

“Many will go right from the final review to duty.”

They had graduated the night before, at a 6 p.m. commencement ceremony in Kyle Field.

More than 20,000 A&M former students served in World War II — 14,000 of them as officers, more than came from West Point — and over 1,000 were killed.

Seewald earned a Silver Star and a Purple Heart in the war, and stayed connected with A&M throughout his life; read more about him here. Our thanks to Corps media manager Matt Willis '96 for sharing Seewald's family video, which is also now in Texas A&M's archives.

Association of Former Students donors provided more than $300,000 in direct support to the Corps of Cadets last year. To add your support, please visit tx.ag/give.

This year’s Final Review will be May 5; A&M’s commencement ceremonies will be May 10-12.