Leslie L. Appelt ’41
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Year Awarded: 1977

Hallettsville, TX

Appelt received a bachelor’s degree in Engineering in 1941. He was a Major in the 371st Army Engineers Construction Battalion during World War II. He served as General Partner, with full asset management responsibility, in five real estate investment development properties and was the Consultant to Jancintoport Corporation and served as Director and Vice President of Service Tool & Supply Company.



He was President of The Association of Former Students in 1971 and Chairman of the Texas A&M Development Foundation Board of Trustees. His ideas and initial funding resulted in creation of the Appelt Aggieland Visitor Center and the Private Enterprise Research Center at Texas A&M.

Rex B. Grey ’41
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Year Awarded: 1971

El Paso, TX

Grey studied Mechanical Engineering while at A&M College of Texas and received a bachelor’s degree in Engineering at the University of Houston. He became owner and President of Texas Apparatus Co. in 1955. He later joined International Telephone and Telegraph Corp., and served as President in the Africa and Middle East Headquarters. There, he initiated coordinating functions of 30 to 40 ITT companies in Africa and the Middle East from one London headquarters and these activities tripled in size under his management.



Grey gave extensive guidance and advice to the planners of SCONA XV, Black Africa: The Challenge of Development. African leaders and students were suggested for invitations and much money was provided to support these invitations. Grey also has contributed a $25,000 President’s endowed Scholarship to Texas A&M.

"The honor you bring to Texas A&M University is a source of great pride to all of us."

  - Dr. Jack K. Williams, Past President, Texas A&M University

Robert R. Herring ’41
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Year Awarded: 1974

Childress, TX

Herring received a bachelor’s degree in Economics in 1941. After service in WWII, he began a more than 30-year career in the natural gas industry, ultimately serving as President and Chairman of the Board for Houston Natural Gas Corp. He was a Director for the Independent Petroleum Association of America, Texas Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, and the American Gas Association.



Herring also served as President of the Texas Heart Institute, Board of Governors at Rice University, Trustee of the University of Houston Foundation, and Past President and Director of the Houston Chamber of Commerce.

"I consider Bob Herring a most outstanding person. His character and integrity are of the highest order. He represents the epitome of the word ‘distinguished’."

  - Michel T. Halbouty '30, Distinguished Alumnus, 1968

Bernard C. Richardson ’41
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Year Awarded: 2000

Kirbyville, TX

Richardson received a bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering in 1942. He served as President of Richardson Chevrolet, the largest dealership in the U.S., and Standard Life Insurance Co. Richardson helped finance several Texas A&M projects, including contributing $6 million for The Zone at Kyle Field, which was named in his honor.



He endowed the Jean & Bernard C. Richardson ’41 General Rudder Corps Scholarship, the President’s Endowed Scholarship, a 12th Man Endowed Scholarship, a Diamond Century Club Endowment, and he provided the funding for the Medal of Honor bas-reliefs at the Sanders Corps Center. He is a member of the Corps of Cadets and Lettermen’s Association Halls of Honor.

"I don’t know if I can put into words what Texas A&M means to me. I owe that university so much for shaping my life and making me into the man I became."

J. Howard Shelton ’41
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Year Awarded: 2003

Osceola, TX

Shelton received a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering in 1941. As a student, he was a member of the 1939 National Championship Aggie football team. Shelton held numerous positions at banks across Texas and is currently a Senior Associate at Kasper and Associates.



He is a Director Emeritus of the Lettermen’s Association and inductee of the Texas A&M Hall of Honor and the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame.

"Over the years I have learned that Howard is a man that you can count on for forthright, sage advice. I am so fortunate to have known him."

  - James B. Peterson ’72

Hon. Mayo J. Thompson ’41
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Year Awarded: 1980

Houston, TX

Thompson received a bachelor’s degree in Economics in 1941 and an L.L.B. degree from the South Texas College of Law in 1949. After becoming a noted specialist in admiralty law, he was appointed Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission, a role in which he served until 1975.



He participated in the founding of Texas A&M University’s Center for Education and Research in Free Enterprise and serves on the Center’s Board of Consultants. Thompson was recognized nationally as Free Enterprise Man of the Year in 1976.



He served as an Alumni Counselor to the Corps of Cadets and has given strong assistance to Texas A&M’s annual Student Conference on National Affairs and is a founding member of the University’s President’s Endowed Scholarship Program.

Ernest L. Wehner ’41
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Year Awarded: 1976

Del Rio, TX

Wehner received a bachelor’s degree in Accounting in 1941. After serving in WWII, he joined the international public accounting firm of Arthur Andersen and Co., advancing to Managing Partner in 1968. Wehner served on the firm’s Board of Directors and was noted for his expertise in oil and gas taxation.



He also served as an advisor to Executive Development Program and the President’s Forum of Texas A&M University College of Business Administration and the Texas A&M University Development Office. Wehner is the co-founder of the Thomas W. Leland Accounting Professorship at Texas A&M.

Dr. Eli L. Whiteley ’41
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Year Awarded: 2012

Eli L. Whiteley, Class of 1941, graduated from the Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas in three years with a bachelor of science in agriculture. He entered North Carolina State College before being drafted into the army, but returned in 1946 after he was discharged to earn a Master’s degree.



He was commissioned as a second lieutenant and later served as a training officer at Camp Wolters. He received orders for Europe and was assigned to the 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, where he joined Company L as a rifle platoon leader. In 1944, while leading his platoon in an attack at Sigolsheim, France, Whiteley was hit and severely wounded in the arm and shoulder, but continued clearing hostile troops from strong points. He continued fighting, even though his eye was pierced by a shell fragment, and led an attack which cracked the core of the enemy resistance. He was the sixth Texas Aggie awarded the Medal of Honor.



Whiteley returned to A&M in 1946 as a lecturer in freshman agronomy classes before earning a Ph.D. in agronomy in 1959. He would remain a part of the Texas A&M faculty and was eventually named a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.



Whiteley and his wife, Anna, had two sons and three daughters—one of whom attended Texas A&M. He died of a heart attack on December 2, 1986.

"His training and experience as a member of the Corps of Cadets benefited him during the time he served in the U. S. Army during World War II. The values instilled upon him during his time at Texas A&M, the values of duty, honor, integrity, and service to others, ultimately led to his return to Texas A&M, where he obtained a doctorate degree, and then served Texas A&M for 31 years."

  - -Alice Whiteley-Wiese, Eli Whiteley's daughter

LTG James F. Hollingsworth ’40
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Year Awarded: 1980

Sanger, TX

Hollingsworth received a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture in 1940. Hollingsworth’s 36-year military career touched the sands of North Africa, spanned the length of Europe, and contributed to the stability of a volatile situation in the Far East.



Hollingsworth was assigned to Korea in 1973 and served as Commanding General of the I Corps which is the largest field army command in the world. He also directed 13 divisions of Republic of Korea and United States Troops. He changed the strategy of defense for Korea and developed the now famous short-war concept which has become the example for the United States forward defense concepts. His decorations include Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star and Purple Heart with five Oakleaf Clusters.

"He is truly a legend—truly an American Aggie Hero."

  - Frank M. Muller, Jr. '55, Distinguished Alumnus, 1992

George P. Mitchell ’40
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Year Awarded: 1977

Galveston, TX

George P. Mitchell received a bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering in 1940. Nationally prominent in land development and oil and gas exploration, he is one of his alma mater’s foremost benefactors. In 1968, he donated 100 acres of land on Pelican Island in Galveston for creation of a new campus for marine related programs. The Mitchell Campus, named in honor of his parents, the late Mr. and Mrs. Mike Mitchell, now serves as headquarters for the University’s fast-growing Moody College of Marine College of Marine Sciences and Maritime Resources. He subsequently has given the University additional Galveston property, including a facility on Eckert’s bayou which will be used as a marine research station.



He is board chairman and president of Mitchell Energy & Development Corporation based in Houston. His firm developed The Woodlands, an internationally acclaimed project which, in essence, involved construction of a completely new and well-designed town north of Houston. His firm also ranks among the nation’s largest independent oil and gas producers and is credited with the discovery of nearly 100 oil fields and 125 gas fields. He has served as chairman of the 4000 member Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association.