PDT Disbanding
The Purdue Drill Team had its origin in 1947. We all know the history and
the tradition. We were all part of that history. Most of us created that tradition.
The Purdue Drill Team as we knew it, came to an end in the Spring of 1970. Between
those years, the PDT created a record of success which is still unsurpassed
by any other college drill team.
Those who were part of the living tradition might ask the questions “What
happened to cause the demise of the best damn college drill team that ever lived?
And why? The WHAT part is relatively simple to recall. The WHY part is a bit
more elusive.
The PDT may have started its decline somewhere around 1964-1965. The struggle
for its existence became tougher each succeeding year. The last 2-3 years, the
PDT was basically on life support, needing a miracle.
The last big plebe class was Fall 1966, when 14 studs, who wanted to be a
part of excellence, were asked to join the team. The plebe class in Fall 1967
listed only 8 students who had a vision of greatness. By the Fall 1969 class,
only 3 plebes came forward to fill the ranks of renown. The Debris yearbook
picture of the Team in Fall 1969 listed only 17 names the entire membership
of the Purdue Drill Team.
When you add to the declining membership, the fact that during the last 4
years the team did not win a single 1st place trophy at any drill
meet, it became obvious to the officers that the tradition of greatness had
come to an end.
Not that we didn’t try to keep the spirit alive. We continued to send out
personalized “call-out” letters to each incoming freshman (a massive mailing
effort each summer). We had moderate, though declining, support from each ROTC
branch in marketing our existence. We continued to raise money to pay our expenses:
selling Cokes at home football games, cleaning up the “Pig & Whistle” (a
favorite bar on the levee) each Sunday morning, very, very, VERY early. (Any
Sunday morning is early for a college student).
But the Fall 1969 marching season went by without the PDT entered in a single
drill meet. It finally became apparent that the tradition of excellence set
by all the previous leaders could no longer be maintained. The team was invited
to be “absorbed” into other university drill teams (all IDR drill), but the
PDT officers felt that the appropriate last rites should allow the team to end
as a distinct entity, so that other teams could not claim the record of our
successes. In the Spring 1970, the last CO finally wrote the letter to notify
Donald Mallet, Dean of Student Affairs, to officially withdraw university recognition
of the Purdue Drill Team.
The supplies in the supply locker were divided up to the final remaining
active members. The Springfield ’03 rifles were officially returned to the Army
ROTC unit (although two or three of them may have followed certain members home).
The massive trophy case was “donated” to the Army ROTC for safekeeping, because
the Pershing Rifles trophy case (significantly smaller) was right next to ours.
And the last one to leave turned out the lights and respectfully shut the door
on the end of an era.
But WHY? Why did that era of excellence end? What were the forces in play
that caused the Magnificent Marching Machine to break down?
The major forces are easy to recall. In 1965, ROTC at Purdue was no longer
mandatory for all male students. The Viet Nam war became an excuse for students
to shun anything military, because it was not the “in” thing to do. The attitudes
of the incoming freshmen were massively influenced by Woodstock and Easy Rider.
They certainly saw no reason for the discipline and precision of the PDT, when
they could be “free” and “do their own thing”.
But closer to home, other forces were at work to encourage the demise of
the PDT. The last National Championship trophy was brought home in 1962. The
last 1st place trophy for any drill meet was earned in the Spring
of 1966. Spring 1969 saw the final drill meet in which the PDT marched. We were
only good enough to earn 4th place. The decline in excellence, in
fact, may have started several years prior to 1970. This perceived decline,
coupled with an increasingly individualistic attitude of each ROTC branch, encouraged
the ROTC departments to create their own drill teams. The Army Pershing Rifles
became stronger, partially with the leadership from some former PDT members.
In the Fall of 1967, the Navy ROTC created a brand new IDR drill team from a
core contingent of former PDT members. In fact, the NROTC advisor to the PDT
was co-incidentally the driving force behind the new NROTC drill team. These
ROTC drill teams were much better supported by the ROTC personnel and by ROTC
financial support. We sure didn’t see any of their personnel early Sunday mornings
trying to earn money to pay entry fees to drill meets.
As a side note, the PDTA concluded their existence in the Spring of 1969.
Most of the women were lost to a new Army ROTC drill team called the “Grenadaires”.
The Navy ROTC also had started a girls’ drill team in 1968-1969, which hurt
more.
With membership dwindling, with ROTC support declining, and with student
attitudes changing (some claim morally decaying), the PDT became the “lost child”.
It was very frustrating to be the salmon swimming upstream. It was painful to
be one of the officers who had to determine the end of a glorious era.
Or has it really ended? Yes, our days of being the best damn marching machine
on planet earth have passed. The spit & shine of our shoes and brass has
faded. But doesn’t that extreme self-discipline, that pride (almost arrogance),
still stir a corner of your soul? Haven’t you come to the realization that the
Purdue Drill Team was so much more than spin ripples and salutes?
By being a part of this elite group, haven’t you honed your mental and physical
abilities, and your confidence in those abilities? You learned to set lofty
goals for yourself and your teammates. You trained yourself to become an eagle,
to soar above the rest. You trained yourself to be a leader, to earn
the respect of others, and taught others to do the same. You have in fact made
yourself better, and made your world a better place to live. And, for most of
us, it started when we were “brain washed” by a small group of high achievers
called the Purdue Drill Team.
Yes, the PDT tradition of excellence will continue to live as long as we
cherish that tradition and care enough to pass it on to those we love.
Respectfully submitted,
Jim Kuemmel
Last CO
PDT 1966-1970