Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets welcomes Old Guard, Highty-Tighties back for homecoming
The Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets will welcome the Class of 1959 back to campus as they celebrate their entrance into the Old Guard.
In recognition of the class’s 50 year anniversary, the corps will honor them with a pass in review on Friday, Oct. 9 at 4 p.m. The parade will be held on the Drillfield, centered on Burruss Hall. Despite Oct. 9 being a student holiday, cadet leadership voted to have the corps remain on campus in order to honor our returning alumni during the university’s 2009 homecoming weekend.
Don Show of Fredericksburg, Va., a Class of 1959 graduate of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets who served as regimental commander during his senior year, will represent his class as the reviewing official for the parade and will address the cadet regiment during the review. Also in attendance will be Lt. Col. Patricia Hodges of Waxhaw, N.C., Class of 1959, who was the first woman commissioned at Virginia Tech.
During the parade, the Highty-Tighties, the regimental band of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets will play and Skipper, the cannon, will be fired when the cadets first enter the Drillfield. The cannon will be fired at the first note of the National Anthem and the first note of Tech Triumph. There will be three shots total, the first shot will be at approximately 3:50 p.m. and the final shot will be at about 4:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome to come out and watch this event.
Free parking is available in Perry Street Lot 1, 3, 4, and 6 near Prices Fork Road and around the Drillfield with a visitor’s pass. A visitor’s pass may be obtained Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Visitor Information Center, located on Southgate Drive. Find more parking information online or call (540) 231-3200.
In addition, the Highty-Tighty alumni will return to campus for homecoming weekend and will join the current Highty-Tighties, and the entire 770 member cadet regiment in the Homecoming Parade on Saturday morning. They will also participate in the pre-game march-on by the corps by playing with the current band as a combined unit prior to the Virginia Tech versus Boston College football game. The Highty-Tighty alumni prepare for these two performances by kicking off their reunion weekend with a two-hour practice session on Friday night. The Highty-Tighties and their alumni will attend their annual homecoming banquet after the game.
