Roosevelt Military Academy Rough Rider Association

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Webmaster:
Bob Fritz, '65

RMA Rough Rider Association for for cadets, faculty/staff and friends of Roosevelt Military Academy

Roosevelt Military Academy no longer exists.
Some of the buildings in Aledo, Illinois,
have been torn down or left to fall down.
But the Scarlet and Gray spirit lives on!

RMA Artifact Discovered in South Carolina Junk Yard

This past September, the association was contacted by Jon Leithiser of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, about a bronze plaque that he found in a car about to be crushed in a junk yard where he worked. The plaque memorialized alumni of RMA who gave their lives during World War II. RMA Historian Gene Shalander contacted Jon to find out more about the plaque and to get some better pictures. The plaque turned out to be one which was bolted to the wall just inside the door of the old Administration Building. The question of how it got from Aledo to a junkyard in South Carolina is one that will likely never be answered. However, Jon was gracious enough to drop the plaque off with Gene in Florida and it is now part of the RMA historical collection. It will be displayed at the 2010 reunion.

Our thanks go out to Jon, a Vietnam veteran, for taking the time to save the plaque from being destroyed, locating and contacting the association and then returning it to us.

Rough Rider Down....

It is with sad hearts we report that Russell Tollefson,
Roosevelt Military Academy Class of 1956
passed away on November 24, 2009

2010 RMA Reunion Being Planned for Western Illinois
We need Reunion Committee Volunteers.

The Association Board of Directors has voted unanimously to hold the next all-class reunion in the Quad Cities with a trip to the RMA campus in Aledo. based on the results of the survey which we have been running on line for the past couples of months. (The survey was also mailed to all former cadets, faculty and friends of RMA without e-mail addresses for whom we had street addresses.) We hoped to have a committee named by the first week of July, but so far we only two people from Western Illinois who have volunteered to serve. We have some folks from other areas who are willing help, but we need at least a couple of others that live near the Quad Cities/Aledo area. If you can help, please contact the Association President.

More details on the survey and the planning progress is included in the May 2009 newsletter.

We need volunteers for the Reunion Committee.

Let's Find the Cadets of "The Lost Battalion"

Over the years, thousands of cadets joined the battalion, passed thru the hallways of the academy and, eventually, went on to their life after RMA And here are some of those cadets that now part of RMA's "Lost Battalion.". Can you, my fellow alumni, help find these cadets? Or maybe you know one or two living close by.

Let’s work together and see if we can bring up the attendance in our active Battalion--or, as we call it today, The RMA Rough Rider Association. Click here for a list of the names of some of the many Cadets that you and I knew. Will you help the association find them?

All you have to do is send me the last known address that you might have and the association will do the rest.

If you are a current members of the association, as of September 1st, and you put us in touch with one of these lost cadets, I will pay $5 of your next years' dues. The Board of Directors have also voted to match my $5, for a total $10 off your 2010 dues. If you are already a life member of the association, then you will have the satisfaction of knowing you helped.

Lloyd “Ace” Young, Sr. ‘64
Membership Chairman

RMA Cadet Writes "Tell All" Novel about Roosevelt

Jim Kilpatrick, Class of 1965, has written a book that will bring back memories for all of us. Whether you were a cadet, faculty member of a friend of the Academy, you will be able to relate to the events in this e-book. Jim is also donating a portion of the proceeds from each book sale to the Rough Rider Association. Here's a short excerpt from the book. You can order the book through Jim's web site.

RMA Quartermaster Store

Whenever a cadet needed to buy uniforms or other RMA-unique items, he would visit the Quartermaster Store in the Administration Building. Now we have created an online quartermaster to provide RMA memorabilia, merchandise and electronic copies of yearbooks for members of the RMA Rough Riders Association, alumni and friends of RMA. Visit the new Quartermaster Store today.

The RMA Roster of Cadets and Faculty/Staff

You can now easily update the RMA Roster with your e-mail and snail-mail address and telephone number. At the same time you can request a copy of the Roster be sent to you, if you are a member of the RMA Rough Riders Association.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT
	ROOSEVELT MILITARY ACADEMY is named for Theodore Roosevelt who so ably represents the ideals of American youth. His magnanimous sprit, commanding personality, alert mind, and abounding physical energy represent our ideals for each cadet who studies at Roosevelt Military Academy. It is the Purpose of Roosevelt Military Academy to educate boys and aid them in their growth processes. The Academy strives to develop in each and every cadet qualities of leadership, both academically and socially, that will aid them - not only in a mastery of his formal education - but also in the full development of his physical, social and moral capacities "BUILDERS OF MEN" --from an RMA Catalog published in the late 1960's
Did you know?
Theodore Roosevelt was recently awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for leading the famous charge up San Juan Hill during the Spanish American War. (HQ, Department of the Army General Order No. 28, dated 31 December 2001) Theodore Roosevelt is one of only two fathers and sons who have received the Medal of Honor. Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. was awarded posthumously for his actions on the Normandy Beaches during D-Day. (The other father-son team was 1st Lt. (later Lt. Gen.) Arthur MacArthur, Jr. during the Civil War and Gen. Douglas MacArthur during World War II.)

The RMA "Crack Squad" Drill Team

(circa 1965)

Do you think you can still do the Queen Ann's Salute?
(Don't drop that rifle or you'll be walking "The Slab".)

See more pictures of Cadet Life.

Send comments and suggestions for the RMA Rough Rider Association Home Page to
Webmaster Bob Fritz '65